Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) has presented its recommendations to President Muhammadu Buhari.
The team held a virtual meeting with the Nigerian leader on Tuesday.
The Chairman, Ayo Salami, in his presentation highlighted the council’s recommendations on poverty reduction and stimulation of non-debt investment inflows.
The team recommended steps for the effective implementation of government’s plan to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty, as well as measures to curb poverty disparity in Nigeria.
The council promised to set out a full policy paper that would, in the first instance, stop more Nigerians from falling into poverty and thereafter, further plans on reducing the poverty headcount in the country.
The PEAC also outlined a number of measures aimed at aggressively increasing the country’s non-debt investment inflow, including measures to improve investor perception of the country and the proposed establishment of a 5 billion – 10 billion dollars investment and growth fund to invest in.
It listed the implementation of reforms encapsulated in the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 recently signed into law, the reforms in the energy sector, bringing electricity and fuel prices in line with the market, and the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to merge the exchange rate of the naira versus other foreign currencies.
Buhari thanked the team for their patriotism and service.
On economy, he noted the challenges posed by the collapse of the oil market and the decision of government to abide by the reduced oil production quota allocated by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
“We have to accept that decision; otherwise they (Middle-East producers) can flood the market and make the product unviable. So we have cooperated with what we get. With oil, we are in a difficult situation. The politics of oil is that the less you produce, the less you earn.”
Buhari explained that COVID-19 pandemic caused the recent government policies as they relate to energy (electricity) and fuel.
He said the Federal government took such decisions because it places the country above politics.
“COVID has reduced us to the same level as developed countries”, the President observed.
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