Tinubu Counters IMF, Plans $1bn GDP

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has promised to grow the nation’s economy to $1 trillion in eight years.

Nigeria is among the top three economies in the continent with a Growth Domestic Product, GDP rate of over $450 billion, currently bigger than that of Egypt and South Africa.

The International Monetary Fund, IMF, recently said the nation’s economy is closely being trailed by the two other economies in the continent, with the possibility of Nigeria’s economy being overtaken by South Africa.

According to the IMF World Economic Outlook for October released last week, South Africa’s gross domestic product will reach $401bn compared to Nigeria’s $395bn and Egypt’s $358bn.

But, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, said in a state statement on Wednesday that the administration will double the country’s GDP by the end of 2027.

The target is to raise the GDP to seven percent annually from the current 3.5 percent, the president said.

According to him, the country targets a GDP growth rate of seven percent from the current 3.5 percent.

The statement said, “With this new commitment to the real sector, the economy is expected to see a boost in job creation and a general increase in economic indices, especially GDP growth rates, projected to move from above 3.5 per cent from 2024 to 7 per cent.

“The ambition of President Tinubu is to grow our economy from the current $ 450 billion GDP to $ 1 trillion in the next eight years.

“To actualize this, the government devised a roadmap to stimulate industrial growth, especially catalyzing SMEs growth and reviving up the entire industrial sector.”