{"id":3489,"date":"2026-10-29T15:53:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T15:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/29\/tinubu-defends-foreign-loans-highlights-1-trillion-economy-push-businessday-ng\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T15:53:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T15:53:16","slug":"tinubu-defends-foreign-loans-highlights-1-trillion-economy-push-businessday-ng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/29\/tinubu-defends-foreign-loans-highlights-1-trillion-economy-push-businessday-ng\/","title":{"rendered":"Tinubu defends foreign loans, highlights $1 trillion economy push \u2013 Businessday NG"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Bola Tinubu has highlighted Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, Trans-Sahara Superhighway, electricity grid upgrades, and the modernisation of key commercial ports in Lagos as some of the deliverables from new loans Nigeria has accessed from international institutions and banks.\n<\/p>\n

The highlights come in response to criticisms about\u00a0 the loans from some Nigerians, especially opposition leaders.\n<\/p>\n

In an essay titled \u201cFrom reforms to delivery: Our infrastructure investment and growth strategy,\u201d published on Nigerian news platforms, President Tinubu wrote: \u201cThe real question is not how much we borrow, but what we build, what value we create and what future we leave behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

President Tinubu identified major projects expected to strengthen Nigeria\u2019s productive capacity, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, Trans-Sahara Superhighway, electricity grid upgrades, and the modernisation of key commercial ports in Lagos.\n<\/p>\n

He said these projects, alongside investments in healthcare, education, and vocational training, would connect economic regions, reduce logistics costs, unlock agricultural and industrial potential, and attract private investment.\n<\/p>\n

Boosting economic growth and job creation<\/h3>\n

The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is expected to cut logistics costs along its corridor by 15% to 20% and could add up to 2% to Nigeria\u2019s GDP through expanded trade, tourism, and industrial activity.\n<\/p>\n

The project is also projected to generate about 100,000 direct jobs in construction and engineering, alongside more than 150,000 indirect jobs in logistics, materials, and related services.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cEstamos not simply building highways. We are opening economic corridors, connecting markets, unlocking industries and reshaping Nigeria\u2019s economic geography,\u201d said President Tinubu.<\/p>\n

Targeting a USD1 trillion economy<\/h3>\n

He stated that the administration\u2019s ambition to build a USD1 trillion economy by 2030 would require sustained infrastructure investment to support higher productivity, industrialisation, and trade.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot build a USD 1 trillion economy with infrastructure designed for an economy a fraction of that size,\u201d said President Tinubu.\n<\/p>\n

He wrote that improving economic indicators and growing international investor confidence are creating opportunities for Nigeria to attract long-term investment and expand critical infrastructure.\n<\/p>\n

Macroeconomic stability and reform gains<\/h3>\n

The President said the economic reforms introduced in May 2023 helped restore macroeconomic stability, strengthen public finances, and improve the country\u2019s standing in international financial markets.\n<\/p>\n

Real Gross Domestic Product growth reached 4.43% in the second quarter of 2026, while headline inflation fell to 14.63% in September from 20.98% a year earlier.<\/p>\n

Gross external reserves rose to USD 55.1bn as of October 9, 2026, including about USD 46bn in net reserves, while the tax-to-GDP ratio increased from 7% to 12.5%.\n<\/p>\n

Strategic priorities for future development\n<\/p>\n

The President attributed these improvements to measures including the removal of petrol subsidies, exchange rate unification, tax reforms, and coordinated efforts to tackle inflation.<\/p>\n

President Tinubu outlined five priorities for the next phase of the Federal Executive Council\u2019s economic strategy:\u00a0Food affordability and energy price stability;\u00a0Budget harmonisation and fiscal discipline and\u00a0Completion of high-impact projects and investment in critical infrastructure. Others include,\u00a0an improved economic policy framework and regulatory efficiency and\u00a0Targeted household support alongside investment in human development.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cSecuring financing is not the achievement. Completing the project, delivering value and improving the lives of Nigerians is the achievement,\u201d said President Tinubu.\n<\/p>\n

\n

Related News<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTemi Bamgbose<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Temiloluwa, the Online Editor of BusinessDay, is a transformative editorial leader with over 10 years of experience driving digital growth and innovation in media. He leads initiatives in leveraging technology to enhance storytelling and build high-performing teams. Temi is passionate about harnessing tech to inform, engage, and empower communities, with a demonstrated history of creating award-winning solutions that bridge the gap between media and technology.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Businessday NG<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Bola Tinubu has highlighted Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, Trans-Sahara Superhighway, electricity grid upgrades, and the modernisation of key commercial ports in Lagos as some of the deliverables from… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3490,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3489\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}