THE picture of the economy was yesterday laid bare in Abuja by Vice-President-elect Yemi Osinbajo.
He said:
•110million Nigerians are feeling the pangs of poverty;
•a $60b debt is to be inherited by the Muhammadu Buhari administration;
•21% of this year’s budget will be spent on servicing debts; and
•two-third of the 36 states cannot pay workers’ salaries.
It was all at the opening of a two-day policy dialogue on the implementation of the agenda for change.
Prof. Osinbajo said: “We are concerned
that our economy is currently in perhaps its worst moment in history.
Local and international debt stands at US$60 billion. Our Debt servicing
bill for 2015 is N953.6 billion, 21% of our budget".
On account of
severely dwindled resources, over two-thirds of the states in Nigeria
owe salaries. Federal institutions are not in much better shape. Today,
the nation borrows to fund recurrent expenditure.
“The figure of extreme poverty in our
society- 110 million by current estimates- makes it clear that our
biggest national problem is the extreme poverty of the majority. Thus,
no analysis is required to conclude that dealing with poverty and its
implications is a priority.”
He went on: “In the course of the
election campaign, we ran an issues-based campaign that identified
certain areas of public policy as high priorities for propelling Nigeria
forward. We addressed the challenges of the economy, insecurity,
corruption and jobs creation".
We spoke to the challenge of providing
opportunities for self-actualisation to millions of our young people who
face an uncertain future with understandable anxiety. We also addressed
the challenge of providing for the most vulnerable segments of our
population by equipping them with the tools to emerge from the crippling
limitations of poverty to achieve dignified and productive citizenship.
"This is also against the backdrop of a
highly unequal society in which, by some reckoning, the largest chunk of
the benefits of our national wealth accrues to a small percentage of
our population. Our manifesto offered a vision of shared prosperity and
socio-economic inclusion for all Nigerians, that leaves no one behind in
the pursuit of a prosperous and fulfilling life.”
Osinbajo spoke of the reason for the
dialogue – “to interrogate these positions and propositions before a
wider audience and to launch a robust public conversation on policy
directions and priorities that will help inform our administration’s
approach in the next four years
The sessions, he said, will explore a
wide range of policy priorities including the diversification of the
economy in the wake of declining oil revenues by engendering job-led
growth, the revitalization of agriculture in pursuit of job creation and
food security, improving the regulatory frameworks in our most
strategic sphere of economic activity – the oil and gas sector,
improving access to qualitative and affordable healthcare, reducing
inequality, reforming our education system to close the gender gap in
access to education and to enable our children become effective
contestants in the global economy, expand participatory diversity and
inclusion in public life and tackle inefficiency and graft in public
service.
“But the Vice-President-elect warned
that the forum is not intended to produce a comprehensive agenda. Rather, it is designed to inaugurate a robust conversation that will
continue long after we have left these precincts. Our immediate duty
today is to set the tone for what we desire to be a serious and
intelligent dialogue about the future of our nation.”
“Consequently, this forum cannot and
will not be another talk shop. Our deliberations must be informed and
pointed submissions that lay adequate emphasis on the ‘how’ of
implementation.”
“We have a few days to go- to enter into
a new bold Nigerian enterprise. There are many hurdles to scale but we
are confident that by God’s grace our Nation will serve its people
well,” Osinbajo said.
The Director, Directorate of Policy,
Research and Strategy of the Presidential Campaign Council and former
Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi, said the event marked the rounding
off of the work of the directorate which worked behind the scene
throughout the campaign.
Fayemi said: “This event is the
gratifying culmination of an assignment that commenced several months
ago. The Directorate of Policy, Research and Strategy has been behind
the scenes contributing our modest quota to the presidential campaign of
our then candidate in the March 28, 2015 general election, and now
president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari".
“Indeed, prior to this, some of us in
the directorate had worked with other patriotic party members to develop
a most compelling manifesto. We subsequently ensured the harmonisation
of the manifesto with the personal ideals of our president-elect, thus
creating a necessary coherence of all aspects of our party’s
expressions, that lent a powerful clarity and focus to our message of
change.”
Fayemi spoke of the directorate’s
behind-the-scene work, adding that “this momentary exposure is, infact,
our final curtain call”.
He attested to the directorate’s
effectiveness, saying: “The outcome of the historic polls attests to the
fact that not only did the right candidate and party triumph, the right
ideas and the right approach also prevailed. The majority of Nigerians
demonstrated their readiness to be taken seriously as voters, and duly
rewarded the party that sincerely addressed their pressing issues. This
commitment to seriously tackling the themes that affect the lives of our
people remains a cardinal principle of our pact with Nigerians and
informs the convening of this policy dialogue.”
Accordng to him, “a majority of the lead
presenters in this dialogue are members of the directorate and have all
been instrumental in crafting the policy priorities and propositions
that helped decisively swing the fate of Africa’s largest democracy in
favour of progressive forces.”
“In a sense, the phase of policy
conception is over and we are entering the phase of execution,
governance, of providing tangible developmental deliverables.”
Source: The Nation
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