President Tinubu on Thursday announced measures, expected to run concurrently with the National Construction and Household Support Programme, to stabilize the economy, enhance job creation, and foster economic security.
A breakdown of the N2 trillion package shows that the government is investing about N350 billion into Health and Social Welfare; N500b into Agriculture and Food Security; N500 billion for the Energy and Power sector and general business support of about N650 billion.
These packages were unveiled by the President at the inauguration of the Presidential Economic Coordination Council (PECC) and launched the Economic Stabilization Programme to ensure food security, improved power supply, enhanced social welfare and healthcare, increased energy production, and overall economic transformation.
Ajuri Ngelale, in a statement, said the President, who chairs the Council, underscored the need for innovative solutions to the country’s economic challenges, noting the importance of public-private partnerships in driving economic reforms.
“We have the challenge of energy security in Nigeria. We need to work together to improve our oil and gas sector, and we must also increase electricity generation and distribution throughout the country,” the statement said.
“We are determined to do that with your cooperation, collaboration, and recommendations. As a nation, it is so shameful that we are still generating 4.5GW of electricity.
“We must increase our oil production to two (2) million barrels per day within the next few months and we are determined to remove all entry barriers to investments in the energy sector while enhancing competitiveness.”
The President unveiled plans to strengthen Energy Security Initiative, which includes power, oil and gas.
Under plans, the President promised to increase on-grid electricity to be delivered to homes and businesses from the current 4.5 gigawatts to 6 gigawatts in six months.
Crude oil production will also increase to 2 million barrels per day within the next 12 months.
The government will remove all barriers to entry for investments into the sector to enhance competitiveness.
Under the Agriculture and Food Security, the government said it will increase staple crops grown by small-holder farmers from 127 million MT in 2023 to 135 million MT this year;
“Bolster production by partnering with larger-scale commercial farmers and support qualified farmers with satellite imagery for land use planning, crop rotation, and monitoring of agricultural expansion.
In the Health and Social Welfare, sector, the federal government plans provide essential medicines available at lower cost for 80-90 million Nigerians; expand healthcare insurance coverage for 1 million vulnerable people via a Vulnerable Group Fund in collaboration with state governments;
As part of the plans, about 20,000 healthcare workers will be deployed to provide services to 10-12 million patients in areas where they are most urgently needed;
The federal government said it is targeting up to 4,800 primary healthcare centres (PHCs), second-tier, and third-tier hospitals using renewable energy sources.
Under the Fiscal Measures, the President said the government will support Youth-owned enterprises
“Support for new and existing youth-owned enterprises across all 36 states of the Federation, creating 7,400 MSMEs within the next 6-12 months;
He also announced a N650b support for the MSME support, that will provide lower-cost short-term facilities to youth-owned businesses, manufacturers and MSMEs across various industries; food processing, pharmaceutical, agriculture, and wholesale and retail trade.
