In a bold shift in economic strategy, the Federal Government is moving its focus away from traditional top-down fiscal policies, instead betting on grassroots development as the primary catalyst to propel Nigeria toward a $1 trillion economy.
This comes as the National Economic Council recently granted concurrence for the creation of the â€Renewed Hope Ward-Based Development Program,’ an inclusive strategy designed to involve all segments of Nigerian society by employing a bottom-up approach to development planning.
The Renewed Hope Ward-Based Development Program, designed to map each of the 8,809 wards across the 774 LGAs in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory is expected to capture resource endowments, available human capital, dominant economic activities, and infrastructure.
This data, the government said, will be aggregated at the LGA and state levels as inputs into their respective plans; this data will also form the foundation for the Renewed Hope National Development Plan (2026-2030).
According to Abubakar Bagudu, Nigeria’s Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, the approved program guarantees that development begins at the lowest level of governance -the wards.
The initiative, Bagudu said, will serve as a grassroots implementation mechanism to decentralize development. It aims to promote local economic activities, reduce inequality, strengthen citizen participation in economic governance, and translate national policy priorities into community-focused interventions.
“Consequently, all rural development programmes, constituency projects, and donor-driven activities will be incorporated under the programme to effectively and collectively fight poverty in all its forms, aiming to attain a $1 trillion economy,” Bagudu stated.
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“This will not only promote national economic growth and development but also strengthen ownership and greater participation of the people—both corporate and non-corporate individuals and groups—national cohesion, and our federal system.”
Bagudu noted that with a landmass of 923,768 km² and a population of approximately 230 million, Nigeria has a unique opportunity to harness its resources. These remarks were detailed in a document titled: â€Building a $1 Trillion Economy: Imperatives of the Renewed Hope National Development Plan (2026-2030)’.
The Minister reiterated Nigeria’s potential in agriculture, solid minerals, the digital economy, manufacturing, and oil and gas. He added that achieving the $1 trillion mark by 2030 depends on exploiting the opportunities provided by these sectors within the new development plan.
“The programme is expected to serve as a catalyst for economic empowerment in rural areas. The transformation of ward economies will undoubtedly deepen economic activity and [balance] migration flows between rural and urban areas,” the Minister noted.
Reviewing the performance of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2025, Bagudu disclosed that most ambitious targets were unmet due to structural weaknesses and external shocks. For instance, between 2021-2024, per capita GDP was $2,213.0 against a target of $2,927.6; real sector growth was 2.9% against 4.7%; and industrial growth trailed at 1.9% compared to the projected 8.3%.
As the first medium-term plan expires, Bagudu noted that major lessons were learned. These include the failings of the previous top-down strategy, inadequate stakeholder consultation, a lack of yearly assessments, and poor alignment with the private sector.
The Minister also hinted at the development of a perspective plan: Nigeria Agenda 2050—which aims to transform Nigeria into an Upper Middle-Income Country (UMIC).
The plan projects an average annual growth rate of 7 percent, seeking to shift Nigeria from a resource-dependent economy to a competitive, diversified production hub.
The Nigeria Agenda 2050 is designed for implementation over six medium-term plans.
The second in the series, the Renewed Hope Medium Term National Development Plan 2026-2030 is currently under development, following the expiration of the inaugural plan in December 2025.
