President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said leveraging the nation’s population and resources, with main focus on unleashing Nigeria’s full economic potential, his administration's Renewed Hope Agenda can build a trillion-dollar economy within the next decade.

This, the President noted, can be further facilitated by ongoing efforts on job creation, access to capital for small and large businesses, inclusiveness, the rule of law and the fight against hunger, poverty and corruption.

President Tinubu spoke on Tuesday in Abuja during the opening session of the 2023 National Engineering Conference, Exhibition and Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE).

The President who was represented at the event by his deputy, Vice President, Kashim Shettima, maintained that with its rich population and resources, Nigeria can become a trillion-dollar economy within the next ten years.

He however expressed disbelief that the ambitious target could be achievable without taking into account the importance of the key elements encapsulated in the theme of the NSE Conference, "Manufacturing, Competitiveness and Economic Growth".
The President stated that he was not unmindful of the hardships most Nigerians are enmeshed in, noting however that "the difficult times are indeed temporary, but the benefits will be permanent.”

Reeling out his administration’s efforts in transforming the economy and creating opportunities for citizens, Tinubu said, He had had engagements with stakeholders across Nigeria's manufacturing sector and are aware of the problems and challenges that are uppermost in their minds which includes  access to low-cost capital, multiple taxation, infrastructure issues, foreign exchange, export obstacles, among others.

On taxation, President Tinubu explained that his administration's goal is to increase the country's tax revenues and  reducing the burden on individuals and businesses at the same time.

On Infrastructure, Tinubu said, “We are supporting the States with seed financing for a transformational Infrastructure Fund. In addition to this, the petrol subsidy reforms have led to dramatic increases in subnational revenues, which means the States have more resources to invest in infrastructure and other critical areas.”

Hinting on access to capital, President Tinubu said he has ordered "the creation of a new single-digit interest-rate Fund to provide N75 billion to support manufacturing enterprises, among other targeted financing interventions.

He tasked the NSE to work closely with government and other stakeholders to “jointly chart a path to true and lasting prosperity for Nigeria”.

President Tinubu further reminded the NSE of the premium his administration places on monitoring and evaluation, just as he challenged them to focus more on measurement of what has been done.

In attendance at the event were the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Benjamin Kalu; Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State; Deputy Governor of Borno State, Umar Usman; Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Engr Abubakar Momoh and Elder statesman, Engr Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu;

Others are Former Delta State Governor, Mr James Ibori; President of NSE, Engr Tasiu Gidari Wudil and President of the World Federation of Engineers, Engr Mustapha Balarabe Shehu, among others.