Business
FG willing to implement new ideas to grow the economy – Osinbajo
The Federal Government has disclosed it is willing to implement new ideas suggested in the Economic Sustainability Plan.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has announced that the Federal Government has been willing to implement new ideas suggested in the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) after the fallout of the pandemic on the nation’s economy.
This was disclosed by the media aide to the Vice President, Laolu Akande, in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja. He added that the Vice President disclosed this at a virtual meeting with the Franco-Nigeria Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
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What you should know
In June, the Nigerian Government released its Economic Sustainability Plan which it hopes will address the economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan was put together by the Economic Sustainability Committee (ESC) assembled by President Muhammadu Buhari. Members of the committee included the Vice President, CBN Governor, 15 Ministers, GMD NNPC, and the Permanent Secretary.
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The report said Nigeria should:
- Develop a clear Economic Sustainability Plan in response to challenges posed by the COVID-19 Pandemic;
- Identify fiscal measures for enhancing distributable oil and gas revenue, increasing non-oil revenues and reducing non-essential spending, towards securing sufficient resources to fund the plan;
- Propose monetary policy measures in support of the Plan;
- Provide a Fiscal/Monetary Stimulus Package, including support to private businesses (with emphasis on strategic sectors most affected by the pandemic) and vulnerable segments of the population, and many others.
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The Vice President disclosed that implementing the Plan was to save jobs and protect Nigerian businesses affected by the pandemic.
Osinbajo said, “It is important to recognise that the pandemic, which really is the cause of the downturn, not just in the Nigerian economy but practically all of our economies, all over the world, except perhaps China, also provides incredible opportunities for doing all manner of very innovative and creative things.
“And if you look at our ESP, which is our response to the pandemic, what we tried to do was to do a few things that we thought would be game-changing.
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“For example, one of the important things that we are trying to do with respect to renewable energy is with solar power.
“We are collaborating with several solar power companies to provide within the next 12 months, five million Nigerian households with solar home systems.
“This is partly to address the issues with the national grid by providing more off-grid capacity and provide more opportunities in the renewable energy space.
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“ What we are doing is to get the financing through the Central Bank of Nigeria as part of the Economic Sustainability Plan.”
Osinbajo said backward integration is key to driving economic growth and urged for private sector commitment to align with the FG’s backward integration goals.
“For us, the issue of backward integration is right, front and centre, and it has been so for many years.
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“We believe that an aggressive pursuit of it is really important for us as an economic policy.
“The most important thing, as I said, is that we are committed to backward integration.
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“Unfortunately, over the years, many companies have committed to backward integration but have simply not been as diligent and faithful with those promises.
“So, we really want to see much greater commitment and a plan that is as aggressive as our own aspirations,” he added.
Business
Lagos State seeks investors in aquatic and livestock agriculture value chain
The Commissioner revealed that the scheme was in line with the State’s five-year strategic agriculture roadmap.
The Lagos State Government announced it is seeking private sector collaboration for Agriculture sector value chain development in livestock feed mills, fisheries and red meat.
This was disclosed by the State Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya, in a statement on Sunday in Lagos.
The Commissioner revealed that the scheme was in line with the State’s five-year strategic agriculture roadmap, as the State identified the 3 main sectors for value chain disruption.
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She also added that investment in the sectors would also develop jobs for the industry and boost the State’s GDP growth, through Private Sector collaboration as Lagos residents consume over N5 trillion worth of food annually.
“The objective is to stimulate and encourage more public-private partnerships in the three value chains,” she said.
“When you consider this pool of transactions happening in Lagos, it shows that we are the market. For instance, we demand over 400,000 metric tons of fish on an annual basis.
“But our fishermen and our aquaculture farmers are only able to produce just about 174,000 metric tons with deficit of 200,000 metric tons,” she added.
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She also disclosed that the state has 9,000 artisanal fishermen, and bringing more youths into the space will increase the level of fish and seafood being harnessed from our water bodies. Looking at the transactional value on an annual basis, the fisheries sector is worth well over N120billion according to her.
In case you missed it: Nigeria exported agricultural products worth N321.5 billion in 2020, representing a 19.16% increase when compared to N269.8 billion recorded in 2019 and a 6.27% increase compared to N302.28 billion recorded in 2018.
Business
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