NESG Summit Opens with Focus on Jobs, Productivity

The 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit opened in Abuja on Monday, bringing together government officials, business leaders and development partners to discuss ways to translate Nigeria’s economic reforms into job creation, higher productivity and improved living standards.

The two-day summit, organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), is holding at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel under the theme, “Growth That Works: Delivering Jobs, Productivity and Shared Prosperity.”

The gathering comes as Nigeria seeks to build on recent economic reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidies, exchange-rate unification and banking sector recapitalisation, while addressing persistent challenges affecting businesses and household welfare.

According to the NESG, the summit aims to move discussions beyond economic stabilisation towards practical measures that can attract investment, improve productivity and ensure economic growth creates jobs and benefits more Nigerians.

The programme is organised around five thematic areas: Work Nigeria, Produce Nigeria, Invest Nigeria, Scale Nigeria and Secure Nigeria.

The discussions will cover employment, domestic production, investment, economic development across states and the role of security in supporting business activity.

Participants are also expected to examine ways to reduce production costs, strengthen infrastructure, improve workforce skills and make Nigerian businesses more competitive.

The summit’s programme includes discussions on building a new economic accord for Nigeria, regional growth corridors and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the informal economy, workforce development and economic resilience.

President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Minister of Finance & Coordinating Minister of the Economy,  Taiwo Oyedele, senior government officials and state governors are among those listed as expected participants.

The NESG expects more than 2,000 delegates and over 100 speakers to participate in the event, which is scheduled to end on Tuesday, October 27.