The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has called on government, industry leaders, and stakeholders to consolidate recent economic stabilisation gains, warning that stability alone is insufficient to deliver prosperity.
Speaking at the launch of the 2026 Macroeconomic Outlook, on Thursday in Lagos. the NESG Chairman, Mr Niyi Yusuf, said Nigeria had emerged from one of the most challenging adjustment periods in its recent economic history.
He said the focus must now shift to translating stability into inclusive growth.
The theme of the programme was “Consolidating Economic Stabilisation Gains: Pathway to Sustainable Growth in Nigeria,”
Yusuf said that the economy grew by 3.8 per cent in the first nine months of 2025, up from 3.2 per cent in the same period of 2024, driven largely by services sectors such as financial services, transport, and ICT.
“Industrial output expanded nearly five per cent, supported by oil, gas, and construction activities, while headline inflation moderated from over 33 per cent in 2024 to around 21 per cent in 2025.”
However, the NESG chairman noted persistent structural challenges.
He said manufacturing remained constrained by high energy costs and limited access to foreign exchange, agriculture output lags due to insecurity and rising logistics costs.
He explained that household purchasing power remained weak, affecting trade activity.
“Stabilisation is a necessary condition for growth, but it is not sufficient.
“The critical question is how we consolidate these gains so that economic growth translates into improved welfare, jobs, and productivity,” he said.
Yusuf explained that consolidation required coherent policies, institutional strengthening, and deliberate removal of bottlenecks that constrained output, investment, and competitiveness.
Yusuf emphasised the need to maintain reform momentum, warning that reform reversal would be far more costly than temporary reform fatigue.
The 2026 Macroeconomic Outlook launch also featured the soft launch of the National Industrial Policy by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, as well as commentary on the December Inflation Report by Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, the Statistician-General of the Federation.
Yusuf described these events as evidence of strengthened public-private sector collaboration aimed at sustaining economic growth.
He urged all stakeholders to ensure that the sacrifices made during the stabilisation phase translate into opportunity, productivity, and shared prosperity for Nigerians.
