The Federal Executive Council on Monday unfolded a three-year economic revival plan to address the social and economic challenges affecting the country.
The inaugural cabinet meeting, which was held at the council chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, was presided over by President Bola Tinubu, who unveiled his vision for “economic growth, prosperity for all and ending poverty.”
Addressing the ministers, the President admonished them to achieve the first phase of his administration’s eight-point agenda within three years.
He asked the members of his cabinet to work hard to revive the country’s economy because Nigeria is in a difficult time.
The President said the ministers have the capacity to make a difference in the ministries they have been assigned to oversee.
“We shall evolve a homegrown re-engineering of our finances, a reimagined stewardship of our resources, and we will let the economy work for the people of this country.
“There are so many things we can and will do. Yes, some cynics will say it is impossible. But in your own dictionary of service, everything is possible, and it must be possible,’’ he told the ministers and other cabinet members.
Emphasising that anyone thinking that appointments are fixed-term appointments was mistaken, the President expressed confidence that the carefully selected cabinet members knew that his government is a new one with a new approach and mandate to deliver for Nigeria without any lamentation or excuses.
He noted, “We have the talent. We have the level of intellectual capacity required to turn this country around. We will make sure that the country is on the right path to succeed on behalf of more than 200 million Nigerians who rely on us.”
Tinubu noted that the country would rely on the experience, skills, intellect and networking of those who had been appointed to make headway in the challenging times.
He cautioned that the cabinet members were appointed to make headway in the challenging times, and failure would not be explained away under his watch.
“You and I know that expectations are high, and these are tough times. We must work hard
and move ourselves to create a buoyant economy that will serve Nigeria.
“We have an employment rate that is unacceptable, and we are facing threats from climate change. In order to turn things around, you have been selected to perform your utmost best.
“Our policy implementation will reform the economy, ensure inclusive growth, and strengthen security for peace and prosperity. Without security, there can be no investment,’’ he pointed out.
Tinubu reminded his cabinet that he is only one man and that their innovative thinking to solve problems would shape his leadership as a president who listens.
“It is in your hands now. I am ready to listen and to cooperate. I am ready even to be corrected. Only God is perfect,” he said.
“You have been asked to fetch water from a dry well. The challenges are great, but we will deliver for Nigerians. I am happy to be the captain of this vehicle.
“It is a great commitment that you have made to the country. Since your inauguration as a minister, you have become a servant for the people, serving all of the people, all of the time,” Tinubu concluded.
Bad economy
Meanwhile, the President has promised to create about 50 million jobs through the Ministry of Trade and Investment.
Briefing journalists at the end of the FEC meeting, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, explained that the Tinubu administration met a very bad economy with inflation at 24 per cent.
“Per capita has fallen steadily, inflation is at 24 per cent, unemployment is high; you know they are rebasing the way in which it’s calculated. Either way, it is high and youth unemployment is even unacceptably high. These are the key metrics that we have met. We met a bad economy and the promise of Mr President is to make it better,’’ he stated.
The minister also said that the Federal Government was not in a position to borrow money at this time, adding the emphasis is on how to create a macro-economic environment where both local and foreign investors will invest and increase production.
The government also assured Nigerians that the Tinubu administration will not rely on borrowing and that he had pledged to be transparent, honest and accountable to the people.
Providing the highlights of the council meeting, Edun noted, ‘’First he (Tinubu) congratulated everybody and emphasised the high expectations of Nigerians and he encouraged us to be bold and courageous and innovative and to act with urgency in delivering a better life to all Nigerians.
“Essentially, we went through an exercise of looking at where things stood, regarding the economy, the growth rate, the exchange rate, inflation, unemployment and so on.
“The overriding conclusion is that we’re not where we should be and we also examined the President’s eight-point agenda; that is the eight priority areas for moving the Nigerian economy forward and for delivering to Nigerians and those are basically food security; ending poverty, economic growth and job creation, access to capital, particularly consumer credit, inclusivity in all its dimensions, particularly as regards youths and women, improving security, improving the playing field on which people and particularly companies operate, rule of law, and of course, fighting corruption.’’
Speaking further, he said, ‘’It is around those matrices that the plans and the targets of what will be delivered in the next three years or so were identified, discussed and inputs were given by various ministers.
