The All Progressives Congress (APC) has unveiled an ambitious infrastructure, maritime, energy and human-capital roadmap designed to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s target of growing Nigeria’s economy to $1 trillion by 2030.
APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, disclosed this on Tuesday while representing President Tinubu as Special Guest of Honour at the second edition of the Asiwaju Scorecard Series/Asiwaju Policy Roundtable organised by the APC Professional Forum.
Yilwatda said the administration inherited an economy burdened by fuel subsidy distortions, multiple foreign exchange windows, weak revenue mobilisation, foreign exchange shortages, rising debt-service obligations and years of inadequate infrastructure investment.
He said the decision by the Tinubu administration to remove fuel subsidy and reform the foreign exchange market was difficult but necessary to reposition the economy for sustainable growth.
According to him, recent economic indicators suggest that the foundation for economic recovery is strengthening, citing Nigeria’s gross external reserves of about $52.7 billion as of August 2026, growth in consolidated non-oil revenue from about N13.63 trillion in 2023 to N16.4 trillion in the first two quarters of 2026, and an improved merchandise trade position.
He also cited real Gross Domestic Product growth of 4.43 per cent in the second quarter of 2026 and a decline in inflation to about 15.4 per cent.
“These figures do not mean that our economic challenges have disappeared, but they demonstrate that the direction of travel has changed,” Yilwatda said.
The APC chairman, however, stressed that macroeconomic stability was not the ultimate destination of the Renewed Hope Agenda, but the foundation for delivering tangible improvements in the lives of Nigerians.
“The ultimate test is when stability translates into cheaper food, more jobs, affordable credit, reliable electricity and greater purchasing power for Nigerians,” he said.
Yilwatda said achieving the $1 trillion economic ambition would require Nigeria to rethink its economic geography and maximise its maritime resources, strategic location, population, natural resources and expanding consumer market.
He proposed an integrated five-port maritime and logistics corridor linking major deep-sea ports in Lagos, Ondo, Akwa Ibom, Port Harcourt and Calabar through modern rail and road infrastructure.
He said the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Super Highway could serve as a principal coastal road spine, while rail and road corridors would connect the maritime gateways to production centres, markets and neighbouring countries across West, Central and North Africa.
According to him, the Western Corridor would connect the maritime gateways to the interior through the Lagos-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano rail corridor, complemented by the Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway.
The Eastern Corridor, he said, would connect eastern maritime gateways through the Port Harcourt-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano rail corridor, alongside the proposed Calabar-Maiduguri Trans-Sahara Super Highway.
Yilwatda said the integrated network could eventually connect Nigeria’s maritime gateways to landlocked markets in Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Sudan and the Central African Republic.
“This is how Nigeria can move beyond being simply a coastal trading nation to becoming the maritime gateway and logistics hub of West and Central Africa, capturing a much larger share of the continent’s trade, logistics, manufacturing and distribution value chain,” he said.
Describing the proposed infrastructure network as “a trade architecture”, he said it would create opportunities in logistics, warehousing, freight forwarding, customs, banking, insurance, manufacturing, distribution and agro-processing.
He called for the establishment of industrial parks, export-processing zones, logistics parks, agro-processing clusters and manufacturing centres along the corridors.
“Where rail reaches an agricultural region, processing industries should follow. Where it reaches mineral resources, processing and manufacturing should follow. Where dry ports are established, logistics and distribution businesses should develop around them. This is how infrastructure becomes an engine of economic growth,” he said.
The APC chairman also highlighted the strategic importance of expanding rail connectivity towards Maradi and the wider Sahel, saying it could reposition Nigeria as a regional trading and logistics powerhouse.
He said improved connectivity would facilitate trade with neighbouring countries while ensuring that economic activities associated with cross-border commerce, including customs, banking, insurance, logistics and manufacturing, are increasingly domiciled in Nigeria.
“If you are a businessman in Nigeria, the rail to Maradi will ensure that you can trade with all the neighbouring countries,” he said.
Yilwatda urged northern governors to view the emerging transport corridors as platforms for economic transformation rather than merely road and rail projects.
He also stressed that industrialisation could not be achieved without reliable and affordable energy, identifying Nigeria’s natural gas reserves as a major opportunity.
He specifically pointed to the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline as strategically important for connecting gas resources with major population and industrial centres in Northern Nigeria.
According to him, the pipeline could support electricity generation, fertiliser production, manufacturing, transportation and household energy supply.
Yilwatda also listed education, skills development and access to credit among the administration’s investments in Nigeria’s productive capacity.
He highlighted the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), saying it was designed to ensure that financial constraints would not prevent qualified young Nigerians from pursuing higher education.
Drawing from his experience as a former university lecturer, he recalled seeing brilliant students abandon their studies because they could not afford school fees.
“Even if you don’t like President Tinubu, your children can access the fund and access higher education,” he said.
He added that digital training and skills-development programmes were being deployed to prepare Nigerian youths for opportunities in the global digital economy.
The APC chairman also cited government-backed credit initiatives for small and medium-scale enterprises, describing them as investments designed to expand businesses, create jobs and increase Nigerians’ productive capacity.
Beyond infrastructure and trade, he identified healthcare and solid minerals as critical components of the administration’s economic vision.
He cited investments in cancer treatment infrastructure and maternal healthcare, while stressing that the solid minerals sector offered significant opportunities for diversification, job creation and investment.
He said Nigeria must move away from simply extracting and exporting raw materials to processing more of its resources locally and capturing greater value from its natural endowments.
Earlier, Chairman of the APC Professional Forum, Alhaji Isa Yuguda, said the Asiwaju Scorecard Series was designed to provide a platform for APC members, policymakers and public officials to explain their contributions to the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Yuguda urged party members to effectively document and communicate the achievements of the administration across various sectors.
He described fuel subsidy removal as one of the most consequential decisions of the Tinubu administration, acknowledging the immediate difficulties caused by the policy but arguing that its long-term benefits would outweigh the short-term pains.
According to him, the former subsidy regime was characterised by leakages, opacity and abuse, diverting resources that could have been deployed for national development.
He commended Tinubu for the political will to end the regime, argued that the resulting fiscal space had increased resources available to federal and state governments for infrastructure, education and other development priorities.
Yuguda also warned against attempts to return to the old subsidy regime as the 2027 general elections approach.
He urged Nigerians to judge political parties and candidates by the sustainability and credibility of their economic policies rather than promises capable of reversing what he described as necessary reforms.
