The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) has challenged all presidential candidates and political platforms preparing for the 2027 general elections to commit to growing Nigeria’s economy to $1 trillion by 2031.
The policy think-tank said the target should form a central and measurable benchmark in the economic manifestos of candidates seeking to govern the country, urging them to move beyond campaign rhetoric and present concrete strategies for achieving the required economic expansion.
In a policy statement signed by its Chairman, Dr Niyi Akinsiju, IMPI argued that a $1 trillion economy would provide a stronger foundation for addressing multidimensional poverty, attracting foreign investment and generating millions of productive jobs for Nigeria’s growing population.
The organisation said candidates should publish detailed, numbers-driven sectoral capital allocation models explaining how they intend to move the economy from its current size to $1 trillion between 2027 and 2031.
IMPI maintained that the target could not be achieved through dependence on crude oil and informal retail activity alone, calling instead for what it described as “deep-water industrialisation.”
It proposed the full activation of Nigeria’s five-port maritime corridors, the establishment of agro-processing clusters across the North and the expansion of digital technology hubs in urban centres across the South.
According to the group, such investments would help shift more than 50 per cent of the informal workforce into formal, tax-compliant and higher-productivity employment.
IMPI also argued that expansion of the economy to the $1 trillion level would improve Nigeria’s access to international capital and strengthen the country’s prospects for financing major infrastructure through long-term private investment.
Defending the feasibility of the target, the think-tank cited recent economic reforms, including fuel subsidy removal and foreign exchange reforms, as well as improvements in GDP growth and external reserves.
It noted that real GDP growth rose to 4.43 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 4.23 per cent in Q2 2025 and 3.89 per cent in Q1 2026.
IMPI also cited a $377.37 billion valuation of the economy and gross external reserves of $54.08 billion.
The group attributed the improved growth largely to expansion in non-oil activities and argued that the figures demonstrated that Nigeria could pursue a significantly larger economic target.
“By our analysis, no alternative candidates can claim that a $1 trillion economy is an unrealistic arithmetic problem,” IMPI said, while crediting the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration with undertaking what it described as difficult foundational economic adjustments.
However, the organisation said the challenge should apply to all presidential contenders, including those seeking to alter or replace the current economic framework.
It urged the media and electorate to demand specific answers from candidates on how they would finance and implement their economic programmes, rather than allowing the 2027 campaign to be dominated by political attacks and complaints about economic hardship.
“The national economic debate cannot be won by opposition to hardship alone; a superior vision for prosperity must win it,” IMPI said.
The think-tank further challenged any candidate promising a faster route to the $1 trillion target to disclose the fiscal policies, trade mechanisms, deregulation measures and capital mobilisation strategies that would be deployed to attract the private investment required.
“If a presidential candidate claims a faster route to a $1 trillion valuation, he should outline the specific fiscal policies, trade mechanisms, and deregulation models he will deploy to attract the massive quantum of private global capital required to double current targets,” the group said.
