By Kunle Oyatomi
Nigerians are gearing up for 2026, and by current projections, next year is shaping up to be much more favourable.
This is thanks to the solid foundation that President Bola Tinubu laid in 2023, which has put the country on an incredible growth trajectory, as being brought to light by some of the country’s brightest economists.
In November, two distinguished Nigerians spoke about the unprecedented economic reset happening under President Bola Tinubu. First was Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who declared that the country’s economy has gained a level of stability.
Second was Nigerian-born global investor, Mr Bayo Ogunlesi, who said Nigeria, having undergone a series of crucial reforms, including phasing out fuel subsidies, liberalising the foreign exchange market and overhauling its tax laws, is on a solid economic footing.
Even though both remarks elicited negative reactions from those who appear to have made a covenant with sadness never to acknowledge anything good from Tinubu, the projections for 2026 are even bigger and better.
For those who care to know, Tinubu’s economic blueprint, built on tough but necessary measures, is likely to achieve unimaginable gains in the coming year.
One of the country’s leading economists, Bismarck Rewane, recently shared this outlook. In his forecast for 2026, Rewane said Nigeria could enter the year on its strongest economic footing in over a decade.
He forecasts that a combination of easing inflation, rising investment, major corporate listings and stabilising monetary conditions will propel the country into a new and more durable cycle of growth.
The managing director of Financial Derivatives Company further described 2026 as a defining year in which structural reforms, private-sector expansion and improved policy coordination will converge to reposition the country’s economy, to the dismay of his critics.
He argues that after years of unstable inflation, caused by the roguish Peoples Democratic Party, PDP’s, economic blunders, exchange-rate distortions and suppressed investment, Nigeria is finally approaching an economic juncture where fundamentals and reform momentum can reinforce each other rather than work in conflict.
But a notable point in his forecast is that the Nigerian Exchange’s total market capitalisation could experience a 191 per cent jump from N90 trillion in 2025 to N262 trillion in 2026.
Nigeria’s economy is expected to maintain a moderately positive growth trajectory in 2026, with GDP expansion of 4.1 per cent, slightly above the 3.86 per cent forecast for 2025, he stated.
Like him, an investment bank, Cowry Asset Management Limited, also anticipates growth in the country’s economy in 2026.
The company said after many years of policy inconsistencies, Nigeria under Tinubu is primed for another level of growth in the coming year, supported by a combination of improved domestic oil production, ongoing policy reforms, and steady expansion in key non-oil industries such as telecommunications, financial services, construction and trade.
Cowry Research pointed out that the oil sector, despite recent volatility, is anticipated to make a positive contribution to overall GDP, driven by rising domestic production and ongoing investments in upstream operations, which are gradually enhancing capacity and output.
Regarding the new tax laws that have sparked concern among some Nigerians, particularly the lower class, provider of tax administration and data security technologies, Taxaide Technologies Limited, Taxtech, has also assured that the reforms are actually favourable to low-income earners and are designed to boost purchasing power.
Taxtech’s Executive Director/Partner, Data Security Services, Mr Oyeyemi Oke, said the reforms ensure that those on minimum wage would pay minimal or no income taxes, while high-income earners would contribute more to government revenue.
He said: “I think it is a good law for individuals, especially low-income earners. What we see under the law is that low-income earners will pay lower taxes. In fact, those who earn the minimum wage will actually not pay any taxes. If an individual is earning between N70,000 and up to N2.1 million, that individual wouldn’t pay higher taxes, some will not even pay taxes at all.
“That changes once an individual earns beyond N2.1 million. Once an individual goes above that threshold, such a person will be paying higher taxes.
“The impact is that people within the low-income band will have more money to spend, which will increase purchasing power. Essentially, it is a progressive tax regime.”
Like I said few weeks ago, President Tinubu may not be one to talk much, but his quiet, steady approach to governance is showing real results, whether troublemakers choose to see it or not.
The evidence of his strategic reforms are beginning to bear incredible fruits in a manner never witnessed before, not even under the butcher of our economy, the PDP, which mismanaged finances and plunged Nigerians into difficult times.
Former First Lady of the United States, Rosalynn Carter, once said: “A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.”
President Tinubu, who is a great leader by all ramifications, will take Nigerians where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be in the coming year and for as long as he remains in power.
•Oyatomi, Former Editor, (Sunday Vanguard), Author (FINGERPRINTS 2008) and a Lawyer, is a member of the Board of Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI), a Think Tank based in Abuja.
