We must Improve Production, Value Addition to Address Unemployment – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has called for increased productivity and value addition across different sectors of the economy to create more jobs for Nigerians and address both unemployment and brain drain.

President Buhari said in Abuja at the 28th Nigerian Economic Summit (NES) themed ‘2023 and Beyond: Priorities for Shared Prosperity’.

According to the President who was represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, there is a need for more intentional and focused investment in the youth, especially in globally marketable skills.

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“The task ahead requires partnership, innovative thinking but, most importantly, disciplined implementation,“ he said

Emphasising improving macroeconomic conditions, Buhari said that the economy continued to grow, with gross domestic product (GDP) at 3.54 percent in the second quarter of 2022.

“Non-oil revenues have similarly continued to improve due to part of strategic revenue initiatives, including the annual Finance Act.

“It is still our revenue challenges that heighten the notion that we have a debt problem, which is really not the case, given that our debt-GDP ratio is just 23 per cent.”

The president said that though the country’s debt service to revenue ratio was high, he Debt Management Office (DMO) was able to adopt strategies to manage the debt more efficiently.

He said that the government was adopting strategies such as using more concessional loans, spreading debt maturities and re-financing short-term debt with longer-term debt instruments.

Also speaking at the event, Clem Agba, minister of state for budget and national planning, said that the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) had provided a veritable platform for dialogue on reforming the Nigerian economy.

“Since the inception of the summit, the nucleus of conversations between government and the private sector had been targeted at building a resilient, virile and competitive economy,” Agba said.

The Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017-2020, developed in 2016, was to restore growth.

“It was designed to restore growth, invest in our people, and build a globally competitive economy. Principally, the conscientious implementation of the plan helped in making Nigeria exit recession early.”