The Nigerian Economic Summit Group has urged the federal government to turn economic growth and slowing inflation into better jobs, higher incomes and improved living standards, warning that stabilisation alone does not guarantee prosperity.
NESG chairman Olaniyi Yusuf made the call on Monday at the opening of the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, saying improvements in economic indicators were not fully reaching households and businesses.
“GDP growth alone cannot tell us whether enterprises are becoming more competitive or households are better off. We must judge success by the quality of jobs, the productivity of our businesses, and how widely prosperity reaches our people,” he said.
Mr Yusuf acknowledged improvements in Nigeria’s economic performance but warned against equating slower inflation with affordable living costs.
“Slower inflation does not mean prices have become affordable. It means they are rising more slowly from levels that already constrain households’ budgets,” he said.
Mr Yusuf said reforms must deliver decent jobs, greater purchasing power, improved security and reduced poverty for households.
He also said businesses needed lower production costs, reliable infrastructure, higher productivity and affordable financing.
“Stabilisation creates the conditions for progress. It does not automatically deliver it. For instance, a more stable exchange rate does not by itself make a manufacturer competitive,” he said.
The NESG chairman supported the continuation of current reforms, including petrol subsidy removal, changes to the foreign exchange market, fiscal restructuring, tax reforms and banking sector recapitalisation.
He said the measures were necessary to address distortions that weakened public finances and constrained the efficient allocation of resources, while acknowledging the considerable pressures they had imposed on households and businesses.
“Therefore, the task before us is not to reverse or suspend reforms,” he said.
Instead, he urged the government to prioritise lower production costs, reliable infrastructure, productive investment and more effective public spending.
Mr Yusuf outlined unreliable electricity, expensive financing, poor transport infrastructure, insecurity and regulatory uncertainty as obstacles raising business costs, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises.
“Our entrepreneurs are remarkably resilient, but resilience should not excuse an environment that makes productivity unnecessarily expensive,” he said.
He called on the government to sustain economic stability, provide essential public goods and ensure predictable regulations. Businesses, in turn, should invest in technology, skills, local supply chains and export competitiveness.
On employment, Mr Yusuf said Nigeria must look beyond headline unemployment figures to examine informal work, job quality and earnings.
“Having work does not necessarily mean earning an adequate income,” he said.
He urged stronger links between education and employment through technical and vocational training, digital capabilities and skills relevant to industry needs.
Education, healthcare, nutrition and social protection should be treated as investments in productivity, he said, with particular attention to women, young people and underserved communities.
“Shared prosperity must be built into economic transformation, rather than treated as a benefit that will eventually follow growth,” he said.
Mr Yusuf also called for closer scrutiny of commitments made at previous summits, saying participants must distinguish between activities initiated, milestones completed and outcomes achieved.
He said trade reforms should be assessed by whether they reduced exporters’ logistics costs, made port procedures more predictable and increased non-oil exports, investment and employment.
“But putting reforms in place is not the same as demonstrating their impact,” he said.
According to him, commitments from this year’s summit should have clearly identified institutions responsible for delivery, realistic timelines, measurable indicators and periodic reviews.
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