Exiting Recession: It’s not yetUhuru for Nigerians until 2020 says Udoma, National Planning Minister
Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma has declared that it is not yet uhuru for Nigerians as regards the much-talked-about issue of the country exiting recession as recently certified by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Dropping the bombshell on Monday at a Strategic Retreat organised by the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), Ibadan at the Training and Conference Centre, Ogere, the Minister remarked that the NBS numbers was only challenge for Nigerians to work harder so that the country can achieve the 7% growth rate desirable for total economic breakthrough by the year 2020.
Specifically, the Minister enjoined Nigerians to be more steadfast and join force with government in the determination to change the national economic trajectory in a more fundamental way as encapsulated in the Economic recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on the 5th of April this year.
Udoma remarked that even though the Federal Government was estimating exiting recession by the 3rd Quarter of 2017, the Government was “encouraged by the NBS 2nd Quarter numbers which showed that Nigeria had already exited recession.”
The Minister declared: “Whilst this news is very encouraging indeed, we appreciate that there is still a lot more work required for us to realise the full promise of the ERGP which is to have a rapidly growing economy with diversified sources of growth, increased opportunities for all our people, and a socially inclusive economy that reduces poverty and create jobs for the millions of young people entering the labour market, annually. In short, our job is not done until we have realized Nigeria’s full potential as a major player in the world economy.”
While reiterating Government’s commitment towards restoring the growth from a negative trend in 2016 to 7% by 2020, the Minister emphasised the need for Nigerians to partner with government through investment in human capital development by creating jobs and building a globally competitive economy.
In this regard, he said, priority focus would continue to be on achieving Agriculture and food security; stabilizing the macroeconomic environment; ensuring energy sufficiency (in power and petroleum products); improving transportation infrastructure; and driving industrialization focusing on Small and Medium Scale enterprises.
To achieve the goal, therefore, the Minister submitted that NISER, as the premier Think Tank and economic research Institute for Nigeria has an important contribution to make by leveraging its research activities on Science, Technology and Innovation that would further build a knowledge-based economy and also guide policy makers in their decision making.
Speaking earlier, the Director-General of NISER, Dr. Folarin Gbadebo-Smith explained the objective of the retreat which was to critically discuss how to reposition and reinvigorate the Institute for effective delivery of its mandate.
ENDS
