Nigeria needs to raise $47.6 billion every year to move beyond economic stabilisation toward lasting growth. That's according to a fresh report from the Nigerian Economic Summit Group released this week.
The NESG warned that without serious investment and better coordination between institutions, recent reforms could collapse. The country has made major strides with exchange rate unification and fuel subsidy removal.
"Consolidation represents the medium-term phase that comes after stabilisation," the report stated. It stressed that reforms alone won't guarantee prosperity without sustained investment and structural change.
Nigeria's real problem isn't a shortage of money. Rather, it's the lack of a solid framework for mobilising and directing capital to productive sectors, the NESG found.
To fix this, the think tank proposed creating a National Consolidation Financing Framework. This would funnel domestic and foreign capital into infrastructure, manufacturing, agriculture and social projects.
The financing gap is enormous. Nigeria needs roughly $31.5 billion annually just to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, according to estimates in the report.
Infrastructure, industry and innovation require the biggest share—about $19.6 billion per year. These sectors are critical for economic transformation.
But macroeconomic gains remain fragile. Inflation climbed from 15.0 percent in February to 15.7 percent in April 2026, driven by higher fuel prices tied to Middle East tensions.
Food inflation surged even faster. It jumped from 8.9 percent in January to 16.1 percent just four months later.
Public debt has also ballooned. Between 2024 and 2025, it jumped from N144.7 trillion to N159.3 trillion, the NESG noted.
Rising debt-service costs are squeezing the government's spending flexibility. Medium-term debt sustainability is becoming a serious concern, according to the report.
Four pillars should guide Nigeria's consolidation strategy, the NESG identified. These are: macroeconomic stability, strong institutions, structural transformation and social inclusion.
Some progress has been made on exchange-rate stability and inflation control. However, major gaps remain in infrastructure, manufacturing, governance and poverty reduction.
Manufacturing has weakened considerably over decades. Its share of GDP fell from 20 percent in 1995 to just 8.7 percent in 2024.
Economic activity has shifted into low-productivity service sectors instead. This limits job creation and export growth, the report warned.
Electricity shortages continue strangling industrial output. Average power generation sits at just 5,398 megawatts, far below what manufacturers need.
