IMPI Challenges Presidential Candidates to Target $1tn GDP by 2031
By Alabidun Shuaib AbdulRahman
The Independent Media and Policy Initiative, IMPI has challenged all presidential candidates and political platforms contesting the 2027 general elections to make a $1tn Gross Domestic Product target by 2031 the central benchmark of their economic plans.
The policy think tank said achieving the target should be treated not merely as a statistical ambition but as a necessary pathway to reducing multidimensional poverty, attracting foreign direct investment and creating high-productivity jobs for Nigeria’s growing population.
In a policy statement signed by its Chairman, Dr Niyi Akinsiju, IMPI urged voters and the media to demand clear, measurable and sector-specific plans from presidential candidates instead of what it described as vague campaign rhetoric.
The group said a $1tn economy would help Nigeria attract larger pools of international capital and unlock financing for infrastructure.
READ ALSO: TMSG Challenges Atiku to Name Obasanjo-Era Legacy Projects
According to IMPI, expanding the economy to that level would also strengthen Nigeria’s sovereign investment profile and reduce the risk premium associated with investments in the country.
The think tank said the target could not be achieved through crude oil production and retail trade alone, arguing that Nigeria must pursue deeper industrialisation across the maritime, agricultural and technology sectors.
It proposed the full activation of the country’s five-port maritime corridors, the development of agro-processing clusters across Northern Nigeria and the expansion of digital technology hubs in urban centres.
IMPI said the strategy would help move a significant proportion of the informal workforce into formal employment and broaden the country’s tax base.
“As a $1 trillion economy cannot be built on retail trade or raw oil extraction alone; it requires deep-water industrialisation,” the group stated.
It added that the expansion of these sectors would create formal employment and provide workers with more stable incomes and access to social and economic opportunities.
IMPI based its argument partly on recent economic indicators, including the 4.43 per cent real GDP growth recorded in the second quarter of 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics figure represented an improvement from 3.89 per cent in the first quarter of the year.
The organisation also cited Nigeria’s nominal GDP estimate of $377.37bn for 2026 and the rise in external reserves to more than $54bn. The IMF-based GDP figure is a current-dollar estimate, while the reserve figure is based on Central Bank of Nigeria data.
IMPI attributed the economic developments to structural reforms undertaken by the Bola Tinubu administration, including the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market.
“By our analysis, no alternative candidates can claim that a $1 trillion economy is an unrealistic arithmetic problem,” the group stated.
It argued that the reforms had created what it described as a foundation for accelerated economic expansion between 2027 and 2031.
IMPI said real GDP growth increased from 4.23 per cent in the second quarter of 2025 to 4.43 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2026, while the economy also expanded from 3.89 per cent in the first quarter of 2026.
It further stated that Nigeria’s economy had risen in nominal dollar terms to $377.37bn, although such valuations can be affected significantly by exchange-rate movements and changes in the methodology used to measure GDP.
The group therefore urged opposition presidential candidates to go beyond criticism of the economic hardship being experienced by Nigerians and publish detailed plans showing how they would achieve the proposed economic expansion.
“The national economic debate cannot be won by opposition to hardship alone; a superior vision for prosperity must win it,” IMPI said.
It challenged candidates claiming that they could grow the economy faster to provide details of the fiscal policies, trade mechanisms and deregulation measures they would deploy to attract the private capital required to substantially expand the economy.
“If a presidential candidate claims a faster route to a $1 trillion valuation, he should outline the specific fiscal policies, trade mechanisms, and deregulation models he will deploy to attract the massive quantum of private global capital required to double current targets,” the group stated.
