By Abubakar Yunus
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprises (CPPE) has warned against reversing economic reforms, claiming that it could undermine investor confidence, fiscal stability and the foreign exchange (FX) market.
In a statement on Sunday, signed by Mudda Yusuf, the chief executive officer (CEO), CPPE commended Taiwo Oyedele, the minister of finance, for greater clarity to the fiscal and macroeconomic outcomes of the reforms and addressing important concerns in the public discourse, following the presentation of the economic reform scorecard.
The think tank said the reforms have delivered measurable gains, including stronger government revenues, greater stability in the FX market, improved external reserves, an expanded trade surplus and a recovery in investor confidence.
Gross domestic product, for example, rose to 3.89 percent in Q1 2026, from 3.13 Q1 2025.
CPPE, however, said this improvement in “macroeconomic stability is a means, not an end”.
“The next phase must move decisively from stabilisation to productivity; from higher government revenues to better development outcomes; and from improving macroeconomic indicators to tangible gains in jobs, incomes and living standards,” the enterprise said.
The think tank warned that reversing the reforms would be “profoundly damaging” to the economy.
“It would undermine investor confidence, weaken fiscal stability, destabilise the foreign-exchange market and reintroduce distortions that the reforms were designed to correct. Such a reversal could trigger significant economic dislocations and erode the gains already achieved,” CPPE said.
“The reform trajectory should therefore be sustained, while implementation is continuously refined in response to emerging realities.”
The group said the next stage of the reforms should address the structural costs that continue to constrain productive activity, including electricity, logistics, insecurity, agricultural productivity, infrastructure, regulatory costs and the cost of capital.
It noted that the electricity sector contracted by 15.3 percent in the first quarter of 2026, while manufacturing grew by 3.29 percent and agriculture by 3.15 percent.
CPPE said accelerating productive-sector growth would require a decisive reduction in the structural costs.
It also said the higher revenues available to state governments following the reforms should translate into visible development and welfare outcomes, rather than simply higher recurrent expenditure.
The think tank said citizens should demand measurable improvements in roads, healthcare, public transportation, education, agricultural infrastructure, security, power and enterprise support.
CPPE also identified the high-interest-rate environment as a major challenge for businesses, saying stronger fiscal-monetary coordination should create room for a gradual easing of financing costs as inflation moderates without jeopardising macroeconomic stability.
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