Buhari Launches Nigeria’s Economic Recovery, Growth Plan

President Muhammadu Buhari has launched the Nigeria Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, ERGP, which seeks to restore the nation’s economic status following the high rate of inflation and recession.

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The launch was undertaken shortly before the commencement of the meeting of Federal Executive Council, FEC, inside the Council Chamber, Aso Rock, Abuja on Wednesday.

The launch was attended by all cabinet members as well as top government functionaries including the national chairman of the governing All Progressives Congress, APC, John Odigie-Oyegun; Senate President Bukola Saraki; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; and chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, and Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari.

Mr. Buhari said his administration inherited numerous challenges at inception. He also said his campaign was based on the difficult situation that Nigeria was in and the need for enduring positive change.

The president said his administration is committed to delivering on the three key areas that he promised during the campaigns; which are to tackle corruption, insecurity and ensure economic growth.

“Security in the North East and other parts of Nigeria today is better than when we came in. Law enforcement agencies are prosecuting many cases of corruption and I assure all Nigerians that we are approaching our economic challenges in the same manner we are fighting insecurity and corruption,” he said.

The president said the ERGP focusses on agriculture with a view to ensuring adequate food security as well as energy, industrialization and social investment.

He said the ERGP is an ambitious plan that seeks to achieve a 7 per cent economic growth by the year 2020. He said the aim is not just to remove the country out of recession, but to put it on the path of strength and growth, away from being an import dependent nation.

“We must produce what we need,” he said.

Mr. Buhari also said the ERGP clearly sets out what his government is committed to doing by creating an environment for businesses to thrive.

He called on state governors to draw inspiration from the plan and articulate their own plans that will lead them to real growth.

Speaking earlier, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, said Mr. Buhari has right from his campaigns shown commitment to changing Nigeria in a fundamental way. He said the ERGP is the president’s fulfilment of his promise to reinvigorate the Nigerian economy.

The minister said while the ERGP is being launched on Wednesday, the plan has put together in “one place, for easy access, all the sectoral plans that the government has been working on, from inception, including the strategic implementation plan for the 2016 budget.”

He said many of the initiatives in the plan are contained in the 2017 budget proposals which were submitted to the national assembly last December.

“The broad objectives of the ERGP are to restore growth, invest in our people and build a globally competitive economy,” he said.

The minister also said Mr. Buhari has already approved the establishment of a unit in the presidency that will monitor the implementation of the plan.

In their goodwill messages, Messrs. Saraki and Dogara pledged the cooperation of the National Assembly to the implementation of the plan. The lawmakers, however, called on the president to ensure the implementation of the plan.

On his part, Mr. Yari said the launch of the ERGP is a significant milestone in the economic management of the country which provides a basis for inclusive growth.

He said all the 36 governors will take ownership of the plan and ensure its implementation as it concerns other levels of government.

The Zamfara governor also appreciated the level of cooperation between states and the federal government, which, he said, has increased significantly.

21 things to know as Buhari unveils Nigeria’s economic recovery, growth plan

President Muhammadu Buhari will formally launch his administration’s economic recovery and growth plan, ERGP, on Wednesday in Abuja.

Presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, said the plan is part of efforts by the government to sustain and build on the successes so far recorded in tackling corruption, improving security and revamping the economy.

The medium-term ERGP, which had earlier been approved by the Executive Council of the Federation, FEC, has amongst its broad strategic objectives, restoring sustainable, accelerated inclusive growth and development; investing in the people; and building a globally competitive economy.

Following the Strategic Implementation Plan, SIP, formulated for the short-term objective of executing the 2016 ‘Budget of Change’, the government recently unveiled the comprehensive ERGP to pursue the medium to long-term objectives of realizing certain national targets in the economy between 2017 and 2020.

Below Are 21 Things Nigerians Should Know About The Plan.

1. The ERGP has three broad strategic objectives: restoring growth of the economy, investing in the Nigerian people, and building a globally competitive economy;

2. It targets the growth of Nigeria’s gross domestic product, GDP, by 2.19 percent in 2017 and 7.0 percent by the end 2020;

3. It envisages reducing inflation to single digit by 2020 and increasing federal government’s revenues from ₦2.7 trillion in 2016 to ₦4.7 trillion in 2020;

4. It prioritizes key turnaround interventions and enablers to generate concrete, visible impact by 2017 and articulates medium term economic policies for implementation between 2017 and 2020;

5. It focuses on achieving macroeconomic stability; economic growth and diversification; competitiveness and business environment; and governance and security;

6. It builds on the short-term Strategic Implementation Plan, SIP, for the 2016 ‘Budget of Change’ towards sustainable accelerated development for 2017-2020;

7. It is a multi-pronged agenda to tackle corruption, improve security and re-build the economy;

8. It is consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, as it addresses economic, social and environmental sustainability issues;

9. It is different from previous plans, as there appears to be a strong political determination, commitment and will at the highest level to realize the objectives;

10. It has a delivery unit in the presidency to drive implementation of economic priorities;

11. It outlines initiatives to boost oil production to 2.5 million barrels by 2020, privatize selected public enterprises/asset, and revamp local refineries to reduce petroleum product imports by 60 per cent by 2018;

12. It builds on the National Industrial Revolution Plan and the Nigeria Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan;

13. It seeks to promote effective collaboration and coordination between the federal and state governments’ work towards achieving national objectives;

14. It emphasizes improvement on public and private sector efficiency towards increased national productivity, sustainable diversification of production, food and energy security.

15. It focuses on tackling constraints to national economic growth, by leveraging the power of the private sector towards economic recovery and transformation;

16. It has five execution priorities to kick-start economic recovery: stabilization of the macroeconomic environment, achieving agriculture and food security, ensuring energy sufficiency in power and petroleum products, improving transport infrastructure, and driving industrialization through local and small business enterprise;

17. It is a blueprint for recovery in the short term and a strategy for sustained growth and development in the long term.

18. It merges the budget and planning functions into one ministry to create a better and stronger link between annual budgets and the national economic plan;

19. It seeks to help improve oil revenues earnings from ₦700 billion in 2016 to ₦1.3 trillion per year in 2017 and ₦1.45 trillion per year by 2020;

20. It aims to boost oil production from 1.4 million barrels per day in 2016 to 2.2 million barrels per day in 2017 and 2.5 million barrels per day by 2020.

21. It aims to boost efficiency in savings of ₦50 billion per year and reducing government overhead expenditures by 25 per cent.