NESG to Hold National Economic Dialogue to Confront Challenges Facing Nigerian Economy
- Experts say Nigeria needs an urgent turnaround in policy choices and economic management to achieve improved socio-economic outcomes
- As a result, there is no better time than now for the country to make good choices that will proffer short- and long-term solutions to our challenges
- In light of this, the NESG is planning a National Economic Dialogue on how best to tackle the social menace
Lagos - The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has announced that it will hold a National Economic Dialogue discourse to highlight possible solutions to the myriads of socio-economic problems in Nigeria.
Legit.ng gathered that the National Economic Dialogue will pay particular attention to six critical challenges that the government needs to address urgently.
Source: Twitter
The challenges include weak and non-inclusive economic growth, macroeconomic instability, infrastructure deficit, human capital deficit and skills gap, national insecurity, and weak economic competitiveness.
Experts say the national economic dialogue on the state of the Nigerian economy is crucial at this critical point in time because it offers a unique opportunity for Nigerians to come together and discuss the challenges facing the country.
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It also presents an opportunity for stakeholders to fine-tune paths that lie ahead and the tough decisions that must be made to build a globally competitive economy that works for all Nigerians.
A statement from the NESG added:
“As the 2023 general election is fast approaching, it has become pertinent for the nation to have a National Economic Dialogue, which should identify and extensively discuss the key structural bottlenecks and challenges that the country has faced overtime to ensure that the political elites and stakeholders are rightly guided in terms of policy choices and implementation.
“Furthermore, it presents an opportunity for us to find solutions to the multi-dimensional global economic challenges - the post-COVID-19 economy, the Russian-Ukraine crisis (among other sources of global instability) - and the national leadership transition while embracing the need to foster national consciousness toward a better economic outlook.
“As a nation, we are faced with the unique opportunity to learn from and reflect on policy choices that led us to where we are today and be ready to make tough choices to build a better and stronger nation.”
NESG chairman reveals worrisome number of Nigerians living below poverty line
Recall that the chairman of the NESG, Asue Ighodalo, earlier in the year, said that 91 million Nigerians are currently living below the poverty line.
Ighodalo at the launch of the 2022 Macro-Economic Outlook of the Group in Abuja, said the World Bank estimates that an additional one million Nigerians were pushed into poverty between June and November 2021.
He said this has resulted in about eight million people being relinquished to poverty in 2021 and bringing Nigeria's poverty headcount to about 91 million.
Nigeria’s economy increases by 3.40% in 2021, strongest growth under Buhari
Legit.ng had earlier reported that the Nigerian economy for the first time in seven years and under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari ended the year 2021 with economic growth of 3 percent.
The National Bureau of Statistics released its latest GDP report for the fourth quarter on Thursday, February 17, revealing that Nigeria's economy increased by 3.4 percent in 2021.
According to the report, the GDP also posted a strong recovery of 3.98 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021 — but lower than the 4.03 percent in the third quarter.
Source: Legit.ng
