Three things Nigeria must do to achieve 5.5 percent real GDP growth rate in 2025 – Omisakin

Olusegun Omisakin, chief economist of NESG has projected that Nigeria’s economy could achieve a 5.5% gross domestic growth rate in 2025 if efficient reforms are implemented.

Omisakin said this during the NESG 2025 Macroeconomic Outlook Launch held on Thursday, emphasising the importance of targeted measures to unlock the country’s economic potential.

According to him, achieving this growth rate hinges on three key strategies. First, he highlighted the need to control inflation, noting that the current inflationary trend is spiraling out of control.

He said controlling inflation must go beyond what the monetary authority can address or what the fiscal authority can achieve through expansionary spending.

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He stressed the importance of critical sectoral reforms, particularly in agriculture, stating, “There is no way inflation can be moderated without considering the agricultural sector.”

Second, Omisakin emphasised the need to boost foreign exchange (FX) liquidity and stabilise the exchange rate, which is critical for fostering investor confidence and economic stability.

Lastly, he called for optimisng fiscal performance, including prudent government spending and improving revenue generation to reduce fiscal deficits.

However, Omisakin warned that Nigeria’s current trajectory, marked by inefficient policy implementation and significant economic constraints, could result in a much lower growth rate.

He projected a possible growth rate of 3.4 percent if the status quo remains. Additionally, he cautioned that a reversal of some of the initial policy reforms could see growth plummet further to 2.7 percent.