The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu has revealed that the Federal Government is planning to invest $100bn annually to tackle the economic challenges in Nigeria.
This announcement followed after the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, said the country was battling various socio-economic challenges that threatened the existence of a national union.
Bagudu pointed to the recent nationwide protest against the bad governance in Nigeria as a push for government officials to listen more and do better.
According to him, although the current economic situation is due to cumulative years of under-investment, the current administration is ready to rewrite the wrongs to improve the country in the next 25 years.
The two government officials spoke at the National Economic Dialogue 2024 organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group on Wednesday in Abuja.
In his address at an event themed “Nigeria’s Economic Future: 25 Years of Democracy and Beyond” and in the presence of leaders, policymakers, experts and stakeholders, Bagudu revealed that the Federal Government was targeting $100bn annual investments to boost the Nigerian economy.
“We want a nation that includes all. We want a higher per capita by the year 2050. We want to ensure that we invest not less than $100bn annually. But if our experience in the last 25 years should serve us as a guide, we sometimes know how difficult it is because you have to make choices that are both pleasant and unpleasant to be able to mobilise capital, private and borrowed capital, to support our aspiration. We need more public resources to fund our priorities.
“So, even in a constitutional democracy, where all tiers are separate, our constitution and our planning process require a minimum of cooperation between the levels of government and the private sector.
“We have lived with oil subsidies, for example, for decades. And it has harmed us, even when oil prices once went up to $147 in our national life. The net effect on the federation’s revenue, or the availability of investment money to support, was almost nil because the higher the oil prices, the more the then President Jonathan’s government was spending to support subsidies.
“So, we have been living a lie. So, as unpleasant as it is, President Bola Tinubu said let’s begin to tell ourselves the truth that we are not as rich as we think we are. It’s not a shame. Countries that have done that thinking and established that truth much earlier than us have made choices that have taken them where they want to be.”
