By Lucy Ogalue
Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, 1st Deputy President of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says actualising Nigeria’s one trillion dollars economy goal depends on implementation, not announcements.
Adesugba said this while delivering a key note address at the 20th Anniversary and Award Ceremony of the Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CICAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to him, stabilisation has largely been achieved, but transformation has yet to begin at the scale required.
He cited 4.43 per cent Q2 growth, 14.63 per cent inflation and 55.25 billion dollars reserves, but noted that foreign direct investment was just 1.3 per cent of capital inflows.
Adesugba said achieving one trillion dollars economy by 2030 needed about 28 per cent annual dollar growth, and huge milestones, including a 500 billion dollar economy and 8,000 megawatts of grid power.
He named power, weak direct investment, low productivity, fiscal integrity and security as binding constraints, noting that grid availability averaged 4,758 megawatts in August against 13,625 megawatts installed.
Adesugba urged policymakers to maintain reforms through the 2027 elections, and called on states, banks and the private sector to drive investment, long-term lending and compliance.
He called on CICAN to launch a quarterly one Trillion Dollar Tracker, saying journalists must explain, verify and investigate.
“Nigeria can not get there without being reported honestly,” he said.
The Director-General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Niger (SMEDAN), Charles Odii, said the agency looked forward to a stronger relationship with CICAN.
Odii, who was represented by Princrle Moshood Lawal, SMEDAN’s Head of Corporate Communications, said that such a relationship would move from media coverage to meaningful collaboration.
He said talks were ongoing on affordable MSME finance, including single-digit interest rates, subject to programme frameworks.
He invited members to SMEDAN’s November MSME conference.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Tunji Bello, said the media was integral in communicating government policy.
“No matter what you do, if the media is not there to project it, then you have not really done anything at all,” he said.
Bello was represented by Nicholas Utsalo, Assistant Director, Corporate Affairs Department of the FCCPC.
He said the commission valued its cordial relationship with the media and celebrated CICAN’s contribution to Nigeria’s economic discourse.
The highlight of the event was the awards presented to dignitaries and heads of agencies under the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.(NAN)
Edited by Kadiri Abdulrahman
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