ABUJA — The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has called for urgent structural reforms and coordinated policy implementation to move Nigeria from macroeconomic stabilisation to industrialisation, warning that economic stability alone will not deliver enough jobs, higher incomes and global competitiveness.
Chairman of the NESG, Mr Olaniyi Yusuf, made the call on Wednesday during the second day of the Nigerian Industrialisation and Competitiveness Forum and the launch of the group’s 2026 Half-Year Macroeconomic Outlook Report.
The forum, themed “Aligning Reforms, Investment, and Partnerships for Industrial Growth and Regional Competitiveness,” brought together government officials, business leaders, development partners and other stakeholders to discuss pathways for accelerating Nigeria’s industrial transformation.
Yusuf said Nigeria recorded encouraging economic developments in the first half of 2026 despite challenging global conditions, but stressed that the gains must now translate into broader economic opportunities for Nigerians.
He said real Gross Domestic Product grew by 3.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 3.1 per cent in the corresponding period of 2025, supported by stronger non-oil sector performance and increased private-sector activity.
However, he noted that the disinflationary trend had reversed, with headline inflation rising from 15.1 per cent in January to 15.9 per cent in June, averaging 15.5 per cent in the first half of the year.
On the fiscal side, Yusuf said government revenue improved to 2.8 per cent of GDP in the first quarter of 2026, from 1.5 per cent a year earlier, while expenditure moderated to 7.1 per cent of GDP.
He said the estimated budget deficit stood at 4.3 per cent of GDP, while public debt increased marginally to a record ₦159.4 trillion in the first quarter.
Despite the rise in debt, he said the NESG Debt Burden Index declined to 75.1 points from 78.3 points recorded a year earlier.
Yusuf said Nigeria’s external position had also strengthened, with external reserves rising to $51.5 billion in the first half of 2026 from $37.2 billion.
He added that the naira appreciated by about 11 per cent year-on-year, while foreign direct investment inflows rose by 42.9 per cent to $1 billion in the first quarter.
Foreign portfolio investment inflows increased to $6 billion, while the current account surplus widened to $5 billion.
“These are encouraging developments signalling that Nigeria continues to make progress in restoring macroeconomic stability,” Yusuf said.
He, however, added: “The focus should now be to move beyond macroeconomic stabilisation by implementing policies and programmes that translate these gains into broad-based economic growth and inclusive development.”
Manufacturing faces structural constraints
Yusuf said Nigeria’s dependence on hydrocarbon revenues remained a vulnerability, particularly amid persistent disruptions to global supply chains.
“Rapid industrialisation is no longer merely a policy aspiration; it is an economic imperative for strengthening Nigeria’s competitiveness within the global production landscape,” he said.
He identified unreliable electricity, dependence on imported inputs, high borrowing costs, limited access to long-term finance, skills shortages, low technology adoption and competition from imports among the major constraints confronting manufacturers.
According to him, manufacturing accounted for approximately 10 per cent of GDP and only 1.4 per cent of exports in the first quarter of 2026.
While the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provides Nigerian businesses with access to a larger continental market, Yusuf warned that market access alone would not guarantee success.
“Market access alone will not make Nigerian firms competitive. We must build the productive capacity to take advantage of that market,” he said.
NESG calls for stronger industrial policy
Unveiling the 2026 Half-Year Macroeconomic Outlook Report, titled “Turning Potential into Progress: Accelerating Nigeria’s Industrialisation for Economic Transformation and Inclusion,” Yusuf said industrialisation must be linked directly to social inclusion.
He identified three reinforcing pillars—inputs, outputs and outcomes—as central to the framework.
According to him, strong institutions, infrastructure, skills, technology, finance, trade integration and macroeconomic stability constitute the inputs required to generate stronger economic outputs and ultimately deliver inclusive outcomes such as decent employment and poverty reduction.
Yusuf said a comparative assessment of Nigeria with China, South Korea and Vietnam showed substantial gaps across the three areas.
The NESG chairman urged the government to move from policy announcements to effective implementation, identifying weak institutional coordination, poor execution, policy discontinuity and inadequate monitoring as factors that had undermined previous industrialisation strategies.
He called for reduced fragmentation among government institutions and stronger federal-state coordination in implementing the Nigeria Industrial Policy 2025.
He also advocated stronger monitoring and accountability mechanisms, continuity of industrial policies across political cycles and better alignment of industrial, fiscal, monetary, trade and infrastructure policies.
Call for patient capital
Yusuf further called for the mobilisation of diverse sources of long-term financing through development finance institutions, blended finance, credit enhancement mechanisms and greater private-sector participation.
He said such financing should target manufacturing companies and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with the potential to create jobs, expand exports and increase domestic value addition.
“I encourage all of us to approach today’s discussions with a strong focus on execution — on what must change, who must act, what resources are required, and how we will measure progress,” he said.
The NESG said the forum was designed to bring together policymakers, heads of ministries, departments and agencies, industry leaders, the international community and development partners to develop practical pathways for Nigeria’s industrial transformation.
