The Federal Government of Nigeria, on Monday, said it inherited a bad economy with an unacceptably high rate of unemployment from the past government led by Muhammadu Buhari.
This is coming after eight years of unwavering support by members of the All Progressive Congress (APC) to Buhari’s economic policies.
Following his inauguration on May 29, President Bola Tinubu has announced a series of economic policies, including fuel subsidy removal and the floating of the FX market, geared toward revamping the nation’s economy.
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The Tinubu-led government said it will tow a path different from its predecessor’s. The President assured Nigerians that it would not rely on borrowing and that he had pledged to be transparent, honest, and accountable to the people.
As part of efforts to revitalize the economy, the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Anite, said the Tinubu-led administration has to create about 50 million jobs through the ministry.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, told journalists at the end of the inaugural Federal Executive Council (FEC), meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja, that the Tinubu administration met a very bad economy.
“Per capita has fallen steadily, inflation is at 24 percent, unemployment is high; you know they are rebasing the way in which it’s calculated.
“Either way, it is high and youth unemployment is even unacceptably high. These are the key metrics that we have met,” he said.
Speaking further on the state of the economy the present administration met, the minister said: “We met a bad economy and the promise of Mr. President is to make it better.”
Edun said Nigeria’s current economic situation does not allow it to borrow. Earlier, Tinubu’s government had decried the accumulated public debt under Buhari, which has resulted in the nation’s spending 90% of its revenue on debt servicing.
The minister said the government is focused on how to create a macro-economic environment where both local and foreign investors will invest and increase production.
Following the FEC meeting, where the “Roadmap for the economy” was presented by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Tinubu ordered the cabinet members to marshal the revival of the economy to ameliorate the suffering of Nigerians.
Edun said having agreed that the economy is not where it should be, the FEC examined eight priority areas and identified targets to deliver in the next three years. He confirmed that President Tinubu had tasked the ministers with introducing policies and programs aimed at revitalizing the economy.
However, Nigerians have urged the government to focus on delivering good governance to the people and stop making excuses – reminding them that they supported Buhari’s poor economic policies – which plunged the country into this mess – to the end.