By Business A.M.
President Muhammadu Buhari has launched the Nigeria Agenda 2050, a long-term development plan aimed at ensuring that the country increases real gross domestic product (GDP) growth by seven per cent,creates 165 million new jobs, and attain a significant reduction in the number of Nigerians living in poverty to 2.1 million in 2050, from the 83 million estimated in 2020.
The launch, which comes nearly seven weeks after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the policy document on March 15, was conducted by President Buhari before the commencement of the weekly FEC meeting.
The president, in a statement by Femi Adesina, the presidential spokesman,expressed optimism that the document which equally aims to increase per capita income of Nigeria to 33,328 dollars per annum and ensure the country is placed amongst the world’s top economies by 2050, will be useful for subsequent administrations.
President Buhari said that the vision is a product of a dynamic knowledge based economy to provide sustainable development by 2050. He added that given the measures already in place for continuous plan implementation, successive administrations will find the document useful in the delivery of electoral promises.
The statement partly read: ‘‘To give effect to this approval, I inaugurated the National Steering Committee in September, 2020 under the leadership of the Hon. Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning and a Distinguished private sector operator, Mr. Atedo Peterside.
‘‘The Steering Committee is to superintend the preparation of the Nigeria Agenda 2050 and the National Development Plan (NDP), 2021-2025 to succeed the Nigeria Vision 20: 2020 and Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), 2017-2020, respectively.
‘‘At the inauguration, I charged the Steering Committee to prepare inclusive Plans that would cover all shades of opinion and ensure even and balanced development, as well as put in place necessary legislations for continuous implementation of Plans even after the expiration of the tenure of successive Administrations.
‘‘This was achieved with the preparation of the Volume III of the NDP that deals with Legislative Imperatives for identified binding constraints to Plan implementation in Nigeria.
‘‘It is instructive to inform the Council and indeed all Nigerians that I had on December 22, 2021 launched the first of the six number 5-year medium term plans, the National Development Plan (NDP), 2021-2025, that will be used to implement the Long-Term Plan.
‘‘Council also on March 15, 2023 approved the Nigeria Agenda 2050 that we are launching today.”
Commending the National Steering Committee, led by Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, budget and national planning, and Clem Agba,the minister of state, budget and national planning,for delivering yet again, on the important national assignment. He added that this feat has also shown the administration’s commitment to planning and plan implementation since assumption of office on May 29, 2015.
On the process for the preparation of the plan, the minister of finance stated that it was not only participatory and consultative but inclusive; involving all critical stakeholders such as, all Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory as well as the representatives of Local Government Areas (LGAs).
She listed other stakeholders as the organised Private Sector, youth organisations, labour unions, traditional and religious institutions, major political parties, women organisations, people with special needs, among others.
‘‘The Nigeria Agenda 2050 is formulated against the backdrop of subsisting economic and social challenges facing the country, including low, fragile and non-inclusive growth, insecurity, high population growth rate, limited concentric economic diversification and low productivity.
‘‘The Plan is a long-term economic transformation blueprint designed to address these challenges,’’ she said.
Ahmed also informed the president and other FEC members present at the inauguration that with the expected improved capital accumulation, investment as a ratio of GDP is expected to increase from the current 29.40 per cent to 40.11 per cent by 2050.
She explained that under the Plan, the bulk of the investment is expected to be financed by the private sector while total employment is expected to rise to 203.41 million in 2050 from 46.49 million in 2020.
‘‘This implies that unemployment will drop significantly to 6.3 per cent in 2050 from 33.3 per cent in 2020. The corollary is that the number of people in poverty will drop to 2.1 per cent by 2050 from 83 million in 2020,’’ the finance minister added.
