The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, has said Nigeria’s ambition of achieving a $1 trillion economy is within reach, citing what he described as international recognition of President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Yilwatda spoke in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, during a rally organised to welcome President Tinubu and his entourage at the Senator Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.
According to a statement issued on Friday by his Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy, Abimbola Tooki, the APC chairman said the reforms were laying the foundation for a stronger and more productive economy despite the difficult adjustments they had imposed on Nigerians.
He argued that abandoning the reforms would reverse the country’s progress and return it to the economic challenges that necessitated the policy changes.
Yilwatda described Tinubu’s $1 trillion economy target as a strategic national development objective, pointing to investments in infrastructure, transportation, education, maritime development and financial inclusion as key drivers of the ambition.
He specifically identified the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as a major infrastructure project expected to improve connectivity, boost commerce and unlock economic opportunities for Akwa Ibom and other coastal communities.
The APC chairman also highlighted the administration’s student loan scheme, interventions for women and small businesses, and tax reforms, which he said were designed to expand economic opportunities and ease the burden on low-income earners.
He further cited improved industrial relations in educational institutions and efforts to settle outstanding obligations to workers, pensioners and retirees of formerly privatised public enterprises as achievements of the administration.
Urging Nigerians to support the reform process, Yilwatda said the country could not afford to abandon what he described as necessary efforts to rebuild the economy.
“Never again should Nigeria return to Egypt. We cannot afford to abandon the difficult but necessary work of rebuilding our economy and repositioning our country for sustainable growth,” he said.