The Nigerian government is targeting a 5% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, 21 million jobs and the lifting of 35 million people out of poverty in the National Development Plan 2021-2025.
The draft of the plan was presented to Friday’s virtual meeting of the National Economic Council presided over by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.
The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, who briefed the media after the meeting, said that the National Development Plan 2021-2025 is a successor plan to the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan 2017-2020.
“Among other highlights, the presentation and memo were to acquaint Council with the need for linkage between Annual Budget and Plans,” Agba said.
Objectives
According to Mr. Agba, the main objective of the National Development Plan 2021-2025 is to;“Establish a strong foundation for concentric diversified economy with robust MSME growth and a more resilient environment.”
Other objectives of the plan is to invest in critical physical financial, digital, innovation infrastructure; to build a solid framework and enhancing capacities to strengthen security and ensure good governance; and to enable a vibrant educated and healthy population.
Thematic Areas
According to Agba, the plan is structured into six thematic areas, including economic growth and development, infrastructure, public administration, human capital development, social development, regional planning.
“The plan is underpinned by micro-economic framework that inform the general strategic and orientation of the plan,” he stated.
He said that the plan sets measures to ensure inclusiveness and to create opportunities for young people, women and vulnerable people through mainstreaming adding that there is a financing plan to increase revenue to 15 percent of GDP by 2025 and to decrease the budget deficit
Policy Action
He said that the policy action for the plan would be the prioritization and implementation of critical and strategic infrastructure projects that will directly boost production and productivity; institutional reforms in public sector, law enforcement, judiciary, and secure property rights, including intellectual property.
Others are measures to diversify revenue and increase tax to GDP ratio by improving tax administration, including the informal sector, and widening the tax base.
He said the Council was also briefed on the funding requirement and funding plan for the National Development Plan 2021-2025, which shows the participation of the organized private sector, the federal government and the state governments.
Financial Updates
The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning also gave the Council an update on Nigeria’s special accounts, including the Excess Crude Account, which as at October 13, 2021 stood at $60, 857,773.43; the Stabilization Account, which stood at N25,009,892,511.55; and the Development of the Natural Resources Account, which stood at N56,144,024,000.71.
PIAK
