The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise says the Federal Government’s economic reforms have produced measurable macroeconomic gains but must now translate into higher productivity, investment, employment and household welfare.
CPPE Chief Executive Muda Yusuf said improvements in government revenue, foreign exchange market stability, reserves, trade performance and real GDP growth had created a foundation for investment.
He cited first quarter 2026 economic growth of 3.89 per cent, compared with 3.13 per cent a year earlier.
Yusuf said macroeconomic stability was a means rather than an end.
He argued that the next stage of reform should focus on whether improving indicators produced better jobs, stronger incomes, lower poverty and visible improvements in living standards.
The CPPE also said state governments had gained significantly from higher federation allocations and stronger internally generated revenue.
It urged citizens to demand clear development outcomes from those additional resources.
Yusuf said higher revenues should translate into better roads, healthcare, public transport, education, agricultural infrastructure, security, power and enterprise support rather than simply larger recurrent budgets or prestige projects.
The organisation identified energy, logistics, insecurity, agricultural productivity, infrastructure, regulatory costs and the high cost of capital as major constraints to productive investment.
It noted that the electricity sector contracted in the first quarter even as manufacturing and agriculture grew modestly.
CPPE called for trade policies that protected credible domestic productive capacity without denying manufacturers access to critical inputs unavailable locally.
The group also said high interest rates remained difficult for businesses.
It suggested that further moderation in inflation could eventually create room for lower financing costs if fiscal and monetary policy remained coordinated.
CPPE warned against reversing the core reform programme, arguing that abrupt reversal could destabilise the foreign exchange market and weaken investor confidence.
It instead recommended continuous recalibration based on evidence and the impact of policies on businesses and households.
The group said economic reform would ultimately be judged by whether stability was converted into productive capacity and improved living conditions.
