Wale Edun, minister of finance, says the N2 trillion economic stabilisation plan announced by President Bola Tinubu will prioritise food and energy security.
Edun spoke to journalists after the inauguration of the presidential economic coordination council (PECC) on Thursday.
He said the council members were presented with the outcomes of the president’s review of the accelerated stability and advancement plan.
The minister described the plan as an emergency measure set to span the next six months following the approval of the N2 trillion intervention package.
He said the package includes N350 billion for health and social welfare, N500 billion for agriculture and food security, N500 billion for the energy and power sector, and N650 billion for general business support.
“This is in addition to a range of promising tax measures, there is a range of Executive Orders which the president’s signed and are been gazetted to ease the cost of doing business at this particular time,” Edun said.
“There are a number of funding which will reduce the cost of interest rate for certain sectors in economy with small and medium scale in particular but also larger companies there is a line of credit that will allow them to fall cheaper than the elevated rate.
“This plan is a means of stabilising the economy and [to] get business growing again.
“We know what has happened since the micro economic measures which are necessary and have been implemented in a determined and consistent manner led to elevated cost for industries and for individuals.”
Edun said Tinubu’s focus is on food security, food production, and nutrition security.
He reaffirmed the president’s commitment to reducing losses in the crude oil sector and increasing production and sales to 2 million barrels per day.
In his remarks, Tony Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holdings, said the president’s target of producing 2 million barrels of crude oil per day is achievable, emphasising the need to improve power generation in Nigeria.
‘PRIVATE SECTOR WILL SUPPORT GOVERNMENT TO CREATE JOBS’
Also speaking, Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, pledged the support of the private sector in investing in job creation for Nigerians.
“The private sector will support the government to invest heavily and create jobs,” Dangote said.
“Government does not create jobs but they give us the right policies, you can see the interventions in gas sector getting the OB3 to work will give the country additional $2 billion.
“What I keep saying is that our own issues are not that bad, this economy can be turned around within few months and I think we are on that way.”
In a move to revive Nigeria’s struggling economy, Tinubu announced a N2 trillion economic stabilisation plan on Thursday.
The plan was unveiled during the inauguration of the PECC.
Established in March, the PECC is chaired by the president and includes key government officials such as the vice-president, the senate president, and the chairman of the governors’ forum.
Prominent private sector leaders, including Dangote, Elumelu, and Bismarck Rewane will serve on the council for one year.
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