- FG said the benefit of the subsidy removal would be ploughed back into various sectors aimed at boosting government revenue and improving the business environment for local and foreign investment
- FEC says President’s vision includes the idea of harnessing the human capital of our youthful population to achieve prosperity for everyone
The federal government says it has no intention to borrow from any local or foreign organisation with the removal of subsidy on petrol and exchange rate harmonisation.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, revealed this at the end of the inaugural Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Monday in Abuja.
He said the benefit of the subsidy removal would be ploughed back into various sectors aimed at boosting government revenue and improving the business environment for local and foreign investment.
Mr Edun said that with the increased revenue from subsidy removal, various palliatives have been made available to cushion its effect on a short, medium and long-term basis.
He reiterated the President Bola Tinubu-led administration’s desire to take the economy out of the woods it has found itself over time.
“Essentially, we went through an exercise of looking at where things stood regarding the economy, the growth rate, the exchange rate, inflation, unemployment and so on.
“The overriding conclusion is that we are not where we should be, and we also examined the president’s eight-point agenda, that is, the eight priority areas for moving the Nigerian economy forward and for delivering to Nigerians, and those are basically food security; ending poverty, economic growth and job creation, access to capital, particularly consumer credit, inclusivity in all its dimensions, particularly as regards youths and women, improving security, improving the playing field on which people and particularly companies operate, rule of law, and of course, fighting corruption.
“It is around those matrix that the plans and the targets of what will be delivered in the next three years or so were identified, discussed, and inputs were given by various ministers, and we’ll now go away with the marching order to refine further the targets in particular and within weeks to start rolling out policies and programmes to turn around the economy and make things better for all Nigerians. That really is the substance of what the discussion was all about,” he said.
Similarly, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, said investment offers were already coming up in different sectors of the economy, including oil and gas, health, solid minerals and agriculture.
She said that her ministry would collaborate with relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government to achieve the president’s commitment to the creation of jobs for the teeming youthful population of Nigeria.
On his part, the Minister of Health, Ali Pate, said that critical sections of the health value chain would be exploited to improve the economy and create jobs for Nigerians.
He said the president had directed them to be courageous and innovative in taking decisions that would benefit the country, adding that the president has already taken such moves.
Mr Pate said the president was responsive to the need to set the economy on the path of progress with his move to remove subsidy on petrol from the first day of his inauguration.
“The president’s vision is that of economic growth, prosperity for all, ending poverty; I think the Coordinating Minister of the Economy laid out those important priorities, which were discussed in the Council Chambers today.
“One element that is key and underlying all of those efforts is the people, Nigeria’s most important asset is its people, its youthful population and the human capital that is bestowed in that youthful population. So Mr President’s vision includes the idea of harnessing the human capital of our youthful population to achieve prosperity for everyone,” the minister said.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the president charged the cabinet members with transparency in their dealings, especially in disseminating necessary information.
He urged the media to avail themselves of the opportunity to verify and fact-check their stories, not to misinform the public.
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