By Oluwakemi Kindness
The First Deputy President of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Professor Adesoji Adesugba, has called on economic journalists to develop a quarterly tracker to monitor Nigeria’s progress towards its one-trillion-dollar economy target by 2030.
Adesugba made the proposal at the 20th anniversary conference of the Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CICAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said the tracker should monitor gross domestic product, foreign direct investment, electricity supply, inflation, manufacturing output, employment and poverty levels.
According to him, the data would help Nigerians assess the effects of government policies and determine whether the economy is moving towards the 2030 target.
Adesugba, a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority, also urged policymakers to sustain economic reforms beyond the 2027 election cycle, improve coordination between fiscal and monetary policies, review the tax system and invest in skills development and research.
He called on state governments to attract investment and prioritise agriculture and infrastructure.
The former NEPZA boss also urged banks to improve access to financing and universities to strengthen the commercialisation of research.
Adesugba said the media should verify official economic figures, investigate economic leakages and hold policymakers accountable for their commitments.
He also called on the private sector to support evidence-based advocacy, development partners to back economic initiatives and citizens to pay their taxes and demand accountability from public officials.
The conference featured representatives of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, among other organisations.
Participants also discussed support for specialist economic journalism, including access to timely information, media training and engagement with relevant institutions, while maintaining editorial independence.
