JOBS, NOT PROMISES: NIGERIA PINS EMPLOYMENT DRIVE ON TOUGH REFORMS AND PRIVATE CAPITAL
Nigeria is betting its employment future on hard macroeconomic choices and an aggressive push to unlock private-sector investment, rather than short-term public hiring, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar.
Speaking on the global stage at the Africa Jobs Engine Panel on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, the minister laid out what he described as a deliberate, reform-led strategy to generate sustainable jobs by first fixing the fundamentals of the economy.
At the centre of the plan, Tuggar said, is the Tinubu administration’s resolve to restore macroeconomic stability and create a transparent, investable environment in which businesses not government become the main engines of job creation.
He pointed to a series of reforms that have reshaped Nigeria’s economic architecture over the past year.
These include the stabilisation of the foreign exchange regime, the politically difficult removal of fuel subsidies, and ongoing power-sector restructuring that clearly separates electricity generation, transmission and distribution.
According to the minister, these moves are not isolated policy experiments but interconnected steps aimed at eliminating distortions, improving transparency and attracting long-term capital especially into energy-intensive and labour-absorbing industries.
Tax reform is the next critical lever. Tuggar disclosed that comprehensive changes are underway to simplify the tax system, improve predictability and boost Nigeria’s competitiveness as a destination for investment at a time when capital is increasingly selective.
Beyond domestic reforms, the foreign minister highlighted Nigeria’s growing role as a regional economic convener.
He referenced the West Africa Economic Summit (WAES), hosted by Nigeria, describing it as a practical intervention designed to close information gaps that often keep private capital on the sidelines.
