At a special event hosted by the Lagos Business School, Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, set out the government’s plan to reset Nigeria’s economy with structured borrowing, targeted investment and diversified growth.
Speaking to some of the country’s most influential captains of industry. The Minister told the audience: “We have inherited a set of conditions that requires us to refine how we collectively work towards ushering in a new era in Nigeria.”
Pointing to the impact of falling global oil prices on the economy, Adeosun said: “In the past, we had the means but not the will. Now we have the will but we no longer have the money to invest. The safety blanket of oil has been ripped away, laying the poverty of Nigeria’s institutions bare.”
She said: “We have spent too many years tinkering at the edges of our institutions. Our infrastructure and our economy and that the mistakes and misjudgements of the last 40 years have set our clocks back by decades.”
A blueprint for growth
Setting out the Government’s ambitious blueprint for growth, Adeosun said: “We must collectively adopt a blueprint that equips the future generations to be creative and dynamic, that allows us to articulate a vision of a Nigeria, with a strong educational foundation: rich in depth of knowledge with a breadth of skills, an expansive infrastructure capable of servicing the needs of a nation of 150 million Nigerians”.
In an hour long presentation, the Minister detailed what she described as an “expansionary budget for investment and growth”. She told the distinguished audience: “We must find the money and create a system that enables targeted expenditure, based on the nation’s priorities.
This expenditure will be efficient and impactful focused on creating wealth for the majority.
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