FG to inject N2trn into economy in 6 months

...Appoints Dangote, Elumelu, into presidential coordination council

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday, said his administration will inject about N2 trillion into the economy within the next six months

The President stated this while naugurating the Presidential Economic Coordination Council (PECC) which has Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote and Tony Elumelu and other notable private sector players as members, on Thursday in Abuja.

Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, while briefing State House Journalists after the event, said members of the Council are made up of the top talents and stakeholders available in the country

He also revealed that the President has signed Executive orders which are being gazetted to ease the cost of doing business in Nigeria.

” Today, they were presented with the outcome of the stabilisation emergency plan to cover the next six months, a N2 trillion naira package.”

A breakdown of the N2 trillion package shows that the government is investing about N350 billion into the Health and Social Welfare; N500b into Agriculture and Food Security; N500 billion for the Energy and Power sector and general business support of about N650 billion.

Edun stated that President Tinubu will focus on food security, even as he has asked the Nutrition Council to go to work and provide for Nigerians food at an affordable price.

Edun was joined at the briefing by Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man and Chairman of Dangote Group, Tony Elumelu, Chairman of
Heirs Holding, and Atiku Bagudu, The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning

The Council which consist of array of major private sector players, also include Doyin Salami, Bismarck Rewani, as well as some of the younger businessmen playing in the major league of the stock exchange quoted businesses and financial organizations.

“This is in addition to a range of policy measures and tax measures, and executive orders which Mr. President has signed and which are being gazetted to ease the cost of doing business at this particular time.

He disclosed that the government is working on reducing the interest rate, currently hovering around 30%, for certain sectors in the economy, including the small and medium scale in particular.

The Minister who stated that policy will also affect some larger companies, added that “ there is a line of credit that will allow them to fund cheaper than the elevated rates.

“This plan is a means of trying to stabilize the economy and get business growing again, we know what has happened since the macro-economic measures, which were necessary and which have been implemented in a determined and consistent manner, led to elevated costs, both for industry and for individuals.

“ Mr. President’s focus is on food production, food security, nutrition security, etc.
“He has ordered that the Food Security and Nutrition Council to immediately go to work and the Vice President said they had a meeting on the food system just yesterday. So the commitment to providing food at an affordable price and in available quantities is uppermost in Mr. President’s mind at this particular time.

Edun also announced plans to scale up crude oil production, adding that “ there is strong commitment to reducing the losses in the crude oil sector and in fact, getting crude oil production and scale up to 2 million barrels a day was another target another commitment that was made today as one of the measures that can assist the whole society by providing not just additional revenue, but additional foreign exchange liquidity to the economy.

“On that note, I will just reemphasize that as the economy has been stabilized, it is now turning to looking at what areas need to emphasize to grow the economy as well as to provide social protection. So agriculture and food is uppermost, but infrastructure is also key and then I’ll just give you two examples of that, but in the oil and gas sector.

There have been improved incentives and ease of doing business and international competitiveness brought to the oil and gas sector through a range of fiscal measures that have made it more competitive, as a result of that we’ve seen transactions completed; Total Energy is in the gas sector, and I think Agip today in the crude oil sector.

“ There are two major projects that are that have been long in the making, that this government has had the commitment to complete; the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline is expected to be completed by the end of this year, or latest first quarter next year. That will provide a surfeit and surplus gas supply for power for industry, for residential use, for fertilizer along that corridor, and give the opportunity for private business to come in and revive industries, revive jobs and economic activity along that corridor.
“Secondly, the OB3 pipeline that carries gas from the east of the Niger Delta to the West has been in the making. That project has been on for 17 years and it is now under President Bola Tinubu that we are looking at a completion date of next month and the difference that that will make is that it will allow the major fertilizer producers

Edun also hinted that the federal government will leverage on the back of improved fertilizer production of the Dangote fertilizer plants, adding that “he and other major producers will now become net exporters of fertilizer and they will become net-owners of foreign exchange. That project is around the corner.
“So those are the optimisms that we can look forward to in terms of what is imminent in terms of job creation and improved economic output. I will stop there because I do have others on this podium with me and it’s important to hear their contributions.

Edun described the body as “a mix of the top talents and the top stakeholders available within the Nigerian business sector.

The Presidential economic Coordination Council is a body that is made up of the President’s Economic Management Team, the Legislature, represented by the leaders of the National Assembly; the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as well as very importantly, the sub-nationals, represented by the chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, and, of course, the elite of the private sector; the likes of Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Industries, and as we have here, Mr. Tony Elumelu, but also top economists,

The Council is expected to meet and report to Mr. President monthly and the outcomes will be used accelerate, stabilization and advance plans for economic growth.