Defence minister Christopher Musa says sustainable national security, strong governance, and credible institutions are indispensable foundations for Nigeria’s transition into a trillion-dollar economy.

In a statement by his spokeswoman, Leah Katung-Babatunde, on Wednesday, the minister said this while delivering a keynote address titled ‘National Security: Pathway to a Trillion-Dollar Economy’ at the 56th Annual Accountants Conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), held in Abuja.

Mr Musa said national security must be viewed beyond traditional military operations and law enforcement. He said it must be recognised as an essential economic catalyst that safeguards human capital, protects critical infrastructure, and fosters the predictability required to attract long-term investment.

“No investor commits capital where lives and assets are not safe, and no economy grows beyond the reach of its security,” he said.

He acknowledged Nigeria’s security challenges, including targeted community attacks, highway kidnappings and isolated insurgent activities.

Mr Musa, however, assured that concerted operations by the Armed Forces of Nigeria were steadily turning the tide to restore stability across economic corridors, agricultural belts and industrial zones. He aligned his address with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, outlining key strategic priorities to leverage security for macro-economic expansion.

The defence minister listed priorities including protecting strategic economic assets, promoting good governance and human capital, defence financial discipline, cybersecurity and financial intelligence, and domestic defence industrial capacity.

Mr Musa announced the establishment of a joint Ministry of Defence-ICAN Implementation Committee to develop collaborative frameworks proposed by ICAN president Queensley Seghosime. He said the partnership would focus on specialised training in public financial management and accounting standards for armed forces personnel, joint training programmes in forensic accounting and financial intelligence to combat terrorism financing, and enhanced corporate governance and welfare schemes for veterans.

The minister commended ICAN for its commitment to fiscal discipline and transparency, adding that a secure environment coupled with professional financial management would lay the foundation for Nigeria’s long-term economic prosperity.

(NAN)