By Ogochukwu Isioma
Nigerian Think Tank, the Independent Media and Policy Initiatives (IMPI) has joined other institutional and individual analysts that have objectively reported that Nigerian economy was showing growth and warned President Bola Tinubu against allowing the 2027 election cycle to slow down his reforms.
IMPI said that as Nigeria’s election cycle edges towards 2027, the President should not be tempted or make the mistake to slow the pace of change.
“The President should forge ahead with the reforms with the overriding aim of making ordinary Nigerians and not just investors to feel the benefits of his shock therapy,” IMPI said at a press conference held on Tuesday.
The Chairman of IMPI, Dr Omoniyi Akinsiju, said: “We join other institutional and individual analysts that had objectively reviewed the impact of the economic restructuring under the Tinubu federal administration and returned a positive outlook for the economy consequent upon the reforms.”
Akinsiju referenced the validation of President Tinubu’s economic reforms by Moody’s Rating which has upgraded Nigeria’s rating by a notch to ‘B3’ from ‘Caa1,’ citing significant improvements in the country’s external and fiscal positions.
Before Moody’s upgrade of Nigeria’s rating, he said that another global financial service rating company, Fitch Ratings, had upgraded Nigeria’s sovereign credit rating to B with a stable outlook.
“This upgrade, which occurred on April 11, 2025, reflects increased confidence in the government’s commitment to policy reforms. Prior to the upgrade, Nigeria’s rating was at B- with a positive outlook. The upgrade is attributed to the government’s policy reforms, particularly those implemented since June 2023.”
The World Bank, he also said had always been effusive in commending the economic reforms embarked despite threat of political backlash.
He noted that in one of its Nigeria Development Update (NDU) reports, titled “Building Momentum for Inclusive Growth”, the World Bank noted that the improvements in fiscal conditions were primarily driven by increased federation revenues, which had contributed to the positive economic outlook for the country.
“It mentioned that economic growth in the last quarter of 2024 had surged to 4.6 per cent on a year-on-year basis, bringing the full-year growth for 2024 to 3.4 per cent, the highest since 2014, excluding the 2021-2022 COVID-19 rebound.”
Akinsiju also mentioned the London-based Financial Times newspaper, which was more declaratory in its review of Nigeria’s economic review.
“In a report, it notes, Nigeria is in better shape than at any time in the past decade just halfway through the first term in office of the Tinubu federal administration.
“The report acknowledged that ‘its verdict may come as a surprise — or even sound like a sick joke — to tens of millions of Nigerians who are suffering the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.”
Yet, according to the paper, “President Tinubu has stabilized the economy and laid the groundwork for a broader recovery though most ordinary Nigerians won’t feel that yet.
He said that more poignant was the review of the economy by the Managing Director of Coleman Wires and Cables Industries Limited, George Onafowokan, who said that foreign investors are taking bold steps to invest in Nigeria despite the tough economic conditions local players often complain about.
“From my vantage point as MAN Chairman, I sign off on applications from new companies. I can tell you that many of these are foreign firms setting up in Nigeria. Ironically, it is local businesses that often complain and hesitate,” Akinsiju quoted Onafowokan as saying.
He said that Onofowokan also urged Nigerian manufacturers to stop focusing solely on the challenges and to begin to explore the country’s untapped potential and that there were opportunities to tap into. “We only need to take a long-term view and be deliberate.”
For his own part in the trajectory of Nigeria’s reforms, the CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso was recently conferred with the Central Bank Governor of the Year 2025 award by the African Banker, Akinsiju reported.
The leading publication dedicated to reporting on the banking industry across the continent says it conferred the CBN Governor with the award because the Bank has had to make tough decisions but these, the organisers noted, have assuaged markets, renewing investor confidence.
He noted that although unemployment had been high, but observed however, a shift in the needle that suggests signs of job creation in the economy in 2024, driven by economic growth and sector-specific initiatives.
While challenges remain, particularly regarding youth unemployment, we submit that the services sector has played a significant role in boosting employment in the country.
While unemployment remains a concern, it decreased from 5.3% in Q1 2024 to 4.3% in Q2 2024.
“The expansion of the services sector, including financial services, real estate, and ICT, has become a key driver of job creation and economic activity. Besides, the Federal Government is actively pursuing policies to create more jobs, including a focus on attracting foreign investments.”
He reported that with the critical macro-economic indicators evidently in alignment, investors were growing confidence in the economy by playing long term with their investment stakes in Nigeria.
“They are staking more funds on longer-tenor assets in the expectation that ongoing reforms would lead to improved macroeconomic performance in the years ahead.
“Subscription patterns in Nigerian sovereign issuances have shown a stronger appetite for long-term bonds with instruments with the most elongated period like the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) February 2031 bond – rising by 497.5 per cent to N328.6 billion, compared with N55 billion recorded when a similar bond was offered in September 2024.
“In addition, total subscriptions for the FGN April 2029 bond also increased from N22.6 billion recorded in September 2024 to N60.7 billion at the last auction in April,” Akinsiju said.
Akinsiju said that these variegated reviews captured in different shades IMPI’s aggregation of the progressive impact of the federal administration reforms on the nation’s economy.
