₦airaland Forum

slimfit1:
God bless you ma carry on with the good job you are doing.

otokx:
Roads, Railways and Electricity is what government should focus on.

tosan200:
He fixed it all in 11 months

tonio2wo:
He dint whine about the mess he met!

tosan200:
Americans also didn't wail like you guys do here

tonio2wo:
Because obama did not plunge them further into more mess in the name of fixing it.

cynosure489:
Because thier revenue didnt dip further when he came in.

Cyojunior:
Listen, a government is either capable or not; there is no
middle ground. Nigeria is not going through anything it
hasn't gone through before. The only difference is that
when we went through this before, we had capable
hands.
.
In 1998 when General Abacha died and General
Abdulsalam took over. Abacha had stolen so much from
national coffers that till date, we still don't know how
much. But we know nobody has successfully broken his
record. Still, when General Abdulsalam took over, he was
able to increase the salary of the public service by as
much as 300%, form INEC and fund them, keep the price
of things from skyrocketting and reduce inflation rate
from 29% to 9.5%.
.
In that same 1998, oil price had dropped from $17 to $13
in the international market. Still, it didn't stop the
government from performing and from fulfilling its
promises to its people. General Abdulsalam was in
power from June 1998 to May 1999, but he was able to
fulfil his promises and set the stage for a new and
economically-stable democratic society.
.
Fastforward to 2015, there has been cases of massive
looting under the Jonathan administration. Just like
1998, there has been a drop in oil prices. Instead of the
government sitting up and solving the problems, it goes
on a blaming mission and spends a whole year blaming
the last administration. Oil price dropped from $148 to
$38 per barrel under Yaradua. We never suffered like this
then.
.
The fact that some graduates of Economics continue to
defend the failure of this government by blaming the
past administration, massive theft and drop in oil prices
is an indictment of the Nigerian educational system. The
fact that some 'public intellectuals' continue to use big
grammar to justify the failure of this administration to
live up to its hype is proof that having a mastery of the
Queen's language is no guarantee that you will make
sense with it. That some 'public commentators' continue
to preach the gospel of 'we must endure before we
enjoy' and 'I didn't vote a magician' only shows that
having a browsing device, internet connection and
knowing how to attract Facebook 'likes' and Twitter
'retweets' are not the same things as having common
sense.
.
No nation is met perfect. No leader is without
challenges. No leader agrees with all the policies of his
predecessor. How the leader acts is what stands him
out. You cannot turn a nation upside down and expect
praises. Praise and respect are not given; they are
earned. Those who continue to dole out cheap praises
and 'stand with' an unperforming government only tell
us how cheap they are and how low their expectations
are.
.
The Buhari administration is an incompetent one. Until it
proves otherwise, we continue to see it as that. And you
suffering mortal that joins them to chant 'Sai Buhari'
amidst economic hardship and national confusion, may
you not die foolish.

Kemy11:
NA to write article and blow fonee she sabi. Zombies need to meet TB Joshua for deliverance. See them above. Bro, I think na you need deliverance pass!








Provost wailers community typing from filling station

Shymm3x:
The smartest brain and brightest light in BooHarry's government...I'm a fan.



^^^^Ouch - a slap on GEJ the re.tard and the worst president ever's (BooHarry is competing with GEJ now) face.

Has she got a daughter? I need to make her daughter my 5th wife.

FinanceNigeria:
Financing our future
By Kemi Adeosun

Writing this, my third article on the economy, I’m keenly aware that the question Nigerians want answered is: what is government doing to address our economic challenges? The first thing to state is that there are no quick fixes, but our strategy is clear and the expected outcomes are pretty compelling. Our immediate economic imperative is to provide a Keynesian stimulus to reflate the economy. The 2016 focus is underpinned by a desire to radically reposition Nigeria’s economy. This administration believes very strongly that the previous direction was far from optimal. We are pursuing a fresh direction consistent with our belief in building a resilient economy.

The strategy itself is worth reiterating. The 2016 Budget is being debt funded and the borrowings are targeted at the financing of capital projects to address the infrastructure deficit, create jobs and build the platform for optimisation of the non-oil economy that will see Nigeria prosper. To this end, we have commenced an aggressive programme of fiscal housekeeping: increasing revenues and reducing recurrent expenses. This will ensure that we move towards our objective of financing recurrent expenditure from revenue, rather than borrowing as obtained before now.

In addition, we have signalled through our financial decisions that we are moving away from oil. Government investment in oil will be limited. We are inviting private sector participation in the funding of cash calls for our Joint Ventures rather than tapping the Federation Account. This is guaranteed to improve our cash flow. As I have stated previously, oil is important but oil is not enough. Therefore, if faced with an option to invest borrowed funds in our railways or power or fund oil cash calls, we will strategically fund non-oil. This is in the knowledge that there are private sector solutions to the funding needed for oil, but few sources other than government for investment in physical infrastructure.

The debate about whether Nigeria should borrow is well intentioned and cannot be dismissed without careful analysis, given our antecedents as a nation. I am in agreement with those who argue that Nigeria should not borrow simply because its debt to GDP level is low enough to accommodate such borrowing. There must be a clear business case backed by justifiable benefits. I believe that Nigeria has such a case at the present time. Simply put, we need capital investment to grow our economy. At 13% debt to GDP, we compare favourably with the threshold of 30% for developing economies. Our low debt to GDP ratio is not exactly a positive attainment because it is accompanied by critically low level of infrastructure investment. It is actually a false economy. Low capital formation is a risk which, if uncorrected, hinders future economic growth and this is already evident.

Borrowing, as we propose, will increase debt to GDP to 16% and still leave us significantly lower than our peer group including Ghana at 70%, South Africa at 50% (2015) and Angola at 31% (2014). Appropriate levels of fiscal deficit have been used to grow many of the most successful global economies. As ours develops, our sources of revenue will grow, diversify, and become less susceptible to external shocks. Our need to borrow will reduce accordingly. It’s important to note that capital spending creates an asset, and this gives a return over time in the form of growth. Infrastructural projects such as rail and roads create jobs, generate taxes and stimulate further spending. This is the economic multiplier effect that capital spending brings. Therefore, while an increase in public spending may create a deficit in the short term, the resultant increase in productivity will lead to a higher rate of economic growth and greater tax revenues. According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), for every one billion US dollars invested in infrastructure in developing economies, between 49,000 and 110,000 jobs are created.

Our borrowing policy will remain conservative and will see us access the lowest available funds, hence our decision to approach multilateral agencies in the first instance, for budget support at concessional rates as low as 1.5% per annum. We have also secured commitments from Export Credit Agencies that are tied to specific capital projects including key initiatives in power, transport and other infrastructure, and at semi-concessional rates. The balance will be sourced commercially to create a blended cost of capital that’s as low as possible. We are addressing the relatively high debt service to revenue ratio which saw 28.1% of our 2015 revenues devoted to debt. This will be done through a systematic restructuring of inherited debt portfolio into a profile that is aligned with our medium term outlook as well as an increase in our revenues.
Borrowing is not our primary focus. Increasing our Internally Generated Revenue is critical because it is sustainable; and because much of the funds collected went unremitted to Government – something we are tackling now. Our Revenue Team holds daily revenue sessions with MDAs during which clear targets are set and agreed; monitoring and evaluation are continuous. We are deploying cash-less revenue collection processes in our high earning agencies to ensure maximisation of our receipts. We are working through Treasury Single Account balances with a view to identifying monies that can potentially be used to fund the budget and reduce borrowing.

Other costly leakages are being blocked. We have completed a detailed review of tax and duty waivers and discovered that in some cases, Nigeria lost significant revenues and with limited benefits. We are set to begin consultations with stakeholders on a revised policy aligned with the best interests of Nigeria.

Furthermore, we are identifying funds that can be released from hitherto untapped sources, including idle and underutilised government assets that have commercial potential including real estate. To this end, Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) is to become a professionally operated Asset Manager, rather than a passive holder of government assets. It will be actively managed to ‘sweat’ Nigeria’s very valuable global asset portfolio. This will generate earnings and constitute additional budget funding.

Gradually and with the requisite safeguards, we will authorise the investment of part of the estimated N6Tn currently held in pension funds into key infrastructure that will provide workers with higher returns on their pension funds while enhancing capital formation and economic growth. Nigeria’s first ever Project Tied Infrastructure Bonds are being designed. These are novel structures that will see borrowings tied to specific revenue generating projects, bringing private sector financial discipline to the project structuring and delivery process, thereby improving value.
Our first quarter-planned release of N350Bn is ready and is sure to have significant impact, in addition to exploring opportunities to reduce contract prices. Our conditions for release of funds are clear and the mandate is a simple one: to define and agree the number of Nigerians to be engaged as a result of this funding. Priority will be given, without apology, to those creating jobs and opportunity for Nigerians. This level of investment, predominantly capital, exceeds the total capital spend for the whole of 2015 and the tempo will be sustained until the green shoots of recovery begin to appear.

John Maynard Keynes’ famous quote on fiscal stimulus - that when economies are depressed, “Government should pay one man to dig a hole and pay another to fill it back” - is an extreme example and suggests an economic benefit in seemingly pointless activity. In Nigeria’s case, the activity to be triggered will be a fully productive one. We will pay men and women to meet our critical needs in power, transport, housing, agriculture, solid minerals, health and education - and lay the foundation for a collective future that is more positive than our current situation may suggest.
One of Nigeria’s greatest strengths is the resilience of her people. Even beyond our shores it is widely acknowledged that if you can survive in Nigeria, you can thrive anywhere. Our ability to overcome obstacles and our ingenuity in exploiting opportunities, are legendary; our economic policy will ensure more of us succeed in creating wealth. There is sufficient diversity of opportunity which our capital investment can unlock. We will always celebrate the emergence of billionaires, of course, but we recognise that a thousand millionaires have greater fiscal impact. Therefore, where the number of private jets was touted in the past as a measure of success, we will take pride in the number of people lifted out of poverty, and the number of new jobs created.

The idea that Nigeria can succeed this time is, for some, unthinkable. But for those of us privileged to be part of this determinedly patriotic team led by President Muhammadu Buhari, it is and will be possible.

Mrs. Kemi Adeosun is the Honourable Minister of Finance, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Follow the Federal Ministry of Finance on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/FinanceNigeria

Like the Federal Ministry of Finance on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/FinanceNigeria/

tonio2wo:
I would have given you my own break down but let Me quote cyojunior for he has an excellent reply for you.
Gej met close to about 60 billion in the external reserve and left it to about 30billion. If you can research on this you would know the true state of this country.



We have been in similar situation before but we dint feel any pinch. Tell ur apc scammers to get to work!!
Revenue dropping is not an excuse!

TheGoodJoe:
Jonathan ordered me to withdraw $2bn from ECA – Okonjo-Iweala

https://www.nairaland.com/3035412/ngozi-okonjo-iweala-epic-failure-end#44496163

Topeakintola:
It is pointless making a general statement without highlighting specifics

Why do you think the policies espoused in the article are not strategic?

Where did she copy it from?

Criticism should come with facts and shouldnt be based on sentiments

FinanceNigeria:
Financing our future
By Kemi Adeosun

Writing this, my third article on the economy, I’m keenly aware that the question Nigerians want answered is: what is government doing to address our economic challenges? The first thing to state is that there are no quick fixes, but our strategy is clear and the expected outcomes are pretty compelling. Our immediate economic imperative is to provide a Keynesian stimulus to reflate the economy. The 2016 focus is underpinned by a desire to radically reposition Nigeria’s economy. This administration believes very strongly that the previous direction was far from optimal. We are pursuing a fresh direction consistent with our belief in building a resilient economy.

The strategy itself is worth reiterating. The 2016 Budget is being debt funded and the borrowings are targeted at the financing of capital projects to address the infrastructure deficit, create jobs and build the platform for optimisation of the non-oil economy that will see Nigeria prosper. To this end, we have commenced an aggressive programme of fiscal housekeeping: increasing revenues and reducing recurrent expenses. This will ensure that we move towards our objective of financing recurrent expenditure from revenue, rather than borrowing as obtained before now.

In addition, we have signalled through our financial decisions that we are moving away from oil. Government investment in oil will be limited. We are inviting private sector participation in the funding of cash calls for our Joint Ventures rather than tapping the Federation Account. This is guaranteed to improve our cash flow. As I have stated previously, oil is important but oil is not enough. Therefore, if faced with an option to invest borrowed funds in our railways or power or fund oil cash calls, we will strategically fund non-oil. This is in the knowledge that there are private sector solutions to the funding needed for oil, but few sources other than government for investment in physical infrastructure.

The debate about whether Nigeria should borrow is well intentioned and cannot be dismissed without careful analysis, given our antecedents as a nation. I am in agreement with those who argue that Nigeria should not borrow simply because its debt to GDP level is low enough to accommodate such borrowing. There must be a clear business case backed by justifiable benefits. I believe that Nigeria has such a case at the present time. Simply put, we need capital investment to grow our economy. At 13% debt to GDP, we compare favourably with the threshold of 30% for developing economies. Our low debt to GDP ratio is not exactly a positive attainment because it is accompanied by critically low level of infrastructure investment. It is actually a false economy. Low capital formation is a risk which, if uncorrected, hinders future economic growth and this is already evident.

Borrowing, as we propose, will increase debt to GDP to 16% and still leave us significantly lower than our peer group including Ghana at 70%, South Africa at 50% (2015) and Angola at 31% (2014). Appropriate levels of fiscal deficit have been used to grow many of the most successful global economies. As ours develops, our sources of revenue will grow, diversify, and become less susceptible to external shocks. Our need to borrow will reduce accordingly. It’s important to note that capital spending creates an asset, and this gives a return over time in the form of growth. Infrastructural projects such as rail and roads create jobs, generate taxes and stimulate further spending. This is the economic multiplier effect that capital spending brings. Therefore, while an increase in public spending may create a deficit in the short term, the resultant increase in productivity will lead to a higher rate of economic growth and greater tax revenues. According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), for every one billion US dollars invested in infrastructure in developing economies, between 49,000 and 110,000 jobs are created.

Our borrowing policy will remain conservative and will see us access the lowest available funds, hence our decision to approach multilateral agencies in the first instance, for budget support at concessional rates as low as 1.5% per annum. We have also secured commitments from Export Credit Agencies that are tied to specific capital projects including key initiatives in power, transport and other infrastructure, and at semi-concessional rates. The balance will be sourced commercially to create a blended cost of capital that’s as low as possible. We are addressing the relatively high debt service to revenue ratio which saw 28.1% of our 2015 revenues devoted to debt. This will be done through a systematic restructuring of inherited debt portfolio into a profile that is aligned with our medium term outlook as well as an increase in our revenues.
Borrowing is not our primary focus. Increasing our Internally Generated Revenue is critical because it is sustainable; and because much of the funds collected went unremitted to Government – something we are tackling now. Our Revenue Team holds daily revenue sessions with MDAs during which clear targets are set and agreed; monitoring and evaluation are continuous. We are deploying cash-less revenue collection processes in our high earning agencies to ensure maximisation of our receipts. We are working through Treasury Single Account balances with a view to identifying monies that can potentially be used to fund the budget and reduce borrowing.

Other costly leakages are being blocked. We have completed a detailed review of tax and duty waivers and discovered that in some cases, Nigeria lost significant revenues and with limited benefits. We are set to begin consultations with stakeholders on a revised policy aligned with the best interests of Nigeria.

Furthermore, we are identifying funds that can be released from hitherto untapped sources, including idle and underutilised government assets that have commercial potential including real estate. To this end, Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) is to become a professionally operated Asset Manager, rather than a passive holder of government assets. It will be actively managed to ‘sweat’ Nigeria’s very valuable global asset portfolio. This will generate earnings and constitute additional budget funding.

Gradually and with the requisite safeguards, we will authorise the investment of part of the estimated N6Tn currently held in pension funds into key infrastructure that will provide workers with higher returns on their pension funds while enhancing capital formation and economic growth. Nigeria’s first ever Project Tied Infrastructure Bonds are being designed. These are novel structures that will see borrowings tied to specific revenue generating projects, bringing private sector financial discipline to the project structuring and delivery process, thereby improving value.
Our first quarter-planned release of N350Bn is ready and is sure to have significant impact, in addition to exploring opportunities to reduce contract prices. Our conditions for release of funds are clear and the mandate is a simple one: to define and agree the number of Nigerians to be engaged as a result of this funding. Priority will be given, without apology, to those creating jobs and opportunity for Nigerians. This level of investment, predominantly capital, exceeds the total capital spend for the whole of 2015 and the tempo will be sustained until the green shoots of recovery begin to appear.

John Maynard Keynes’ famous quote on fiscal stimulus - that when economies are depressed, “Government should pay one man to dig a hole and pay another to fill it back” - is an extreme example and suggests an economic benefit in seemingly pointless activity. In Nigeria’s case, the activity to be triggered will be a fully productive one. We will pay men and women to meet our critical needs in power, transport, housing, agriculture, solid minerals, health and education - and lay the foundation for a collective future that is more positive than our current situation may suggest.
One of Nigeria’s greatest strengths is the resilience of her people. Even beyond our shores it is widely acknowledged that if you can survive in Nigeria, you can thrive anywhere. Our ability to overcome obstacles and our ingenuity in exploiting opportunities, are legendary; our economic policy will ensure more of us succeed in creating wealth. There is sufficient diversity of opportunity which our capital investment can unlock. We will always celebrate the emergence of billionaires, of course, but we recognise that a thousand millionaires have greater fiscal impact. Therefore, where the number of private jets was touted in the past as a measure of success, we will take pride in the number of people lifted out of poverty, and the number of new jobs created.

The idea that Nigeria can succeed this time is, for some, unthinkable. But for those of us privileged to be part of this determinedly patriotic team led by President Muhammadu Buhari, it is and will be possible.

Mrs. Kemi Adeosun is the Honourable Minister of Finance, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Follow the Federal Ministry of Finance on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/FinanceNigeria

Like the Federal Ministry of Finance on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/FinanceNigeria/

Obiagelli:
The ministry of information has 3 ministries combined (Information, culture and tourism). Tourisim used to be a standalone ministry before this administration.
Why do think we need more spending in the ministry of agric, to build government farms?



Special intervention fund of 500 billion naira to employ graduate teachers and build 10,000 health centers (4yrs plan, starting with this budget)



Less reliance = diversification but that does not stop the ministry of petroleum from looking for more revenue.



Diversification. The EU recently is lifting a ban on Nigerian crop imports.



Let me guess, he is into importation? We don't their type



Loans are tied to projects, project create job = more taxes.

Greece? Argentina? Apples and oranges.



If i saw this earlier, i wont have wasted time quoting you, can u compare today's oil price with the previous government? Did you just say prudent


Seriouly? Have you been following what your government is saying?

Topeakintola:
Very robust analysis and sets a well thought out strategy to solve Nigeria's economic problems

God Bless Kemi


God bless PMB

God bless Nigeria

FinanceNigeria:
Financing our future
By Kemi Adeosun

Writing this, my third article on the economy, I’m keenly aware that the question Nigerians want answered is: what is government doing to address our economic challenges? The first thing to state is that there are no quick fixes, but our strategy is clear and the expected outcomes are pretty compelling. Our immediate economic imperative is to provide a Keynesian stimulus to reflate the economy. The 2016 focus is underpinned by a desire to radically reposition Nigeria’s economy. This administration believes very strongly that the previous direction was far from optimal. We are pursuing a fresh direction consistent with our belief in building a resilient economy.

The strategy itself is worth reiterating. The 2016 Budget is being debt funded and the borrowings are targeted at the financing of capital projects to address the infrastructure deficit, create jobs and build the platform for optimisation of the non-oil economy that will see Nigeria prosper. To this end, we have commenced an aggressive programme of fiscal housekeeping: increasing revenues and reducing recurrent expenses. This will ensure that we move towards our objective of financing recurrent expenditure from revenue, rather than borrowing as obtained before now.

In addition, we have signalled through our financial decisions that we are moving away from oil. Government investment in oil will be limited. We are inviting private sector participation in the funding of cash calls for our Joint Ventures rather than tapping the Federation Account. This is guaranteed to improve our cash flow. As I have stated previously, oil is important but oil is not enough. Therefore, if faced with an option to invest borrowed funds in our railways or power or fund oil cash calls, we will strategically fund non-oil. This is in the knowledge that there are private sector solutions to the funding needed for oil, but few sources other than government for investment in physical infrastructure.

The debate about whether Nigeria should borrow is well intentioned and cannot be dismissed without careful analysis, given our antecedents as a nation. I am in agreement with those who argue that Nigeria should not borrow simply because its debt to GDP level is low enough to accommodate such borrowing. There must be a clear business case backed by justifiable benefits. I believe that Nigeria has such a case at the present time. Simply put, we need capital investment to grow our economy. At 13% debt to GDP, we compare favourably with the threshold of 30% for developing economies. Our low debt to GDP ratio is not exactly a positive attainment because it is accompanied by critically low level of infrastructure investment. It is actually a false economy. Low capital formation is a risk which, if uncorrected, hinders future economic growth and this is already evident.

Borrowing, as we propose, will increase debt to GDP to 16% and still leave us significantly lower than our peer group including Ghana at 70%, South Africa at 50% (2015) and Angola at 31% (2014). Appropriate levels of fiscal deficit have been used to grow many of the most successful global economies. As ours develops, our sources of revenue will grow, diversify, and become less susceptible to external shocks. Our need to borrow will reduce accordingly. It’s important to note that capital spending creates an asset, and this gives a return over time in the form of growth. Infrastructural projects such as rail and roads create jobs, generate taxes and stimulate further spending. This is the economic multiplier effect that capital spending brings. Therefore, while an increase in public spending may create a deficit in the short term, the resultant increase in productivity will lead to a higher rate of economic growth and greater tax revenues. According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), for every one billion US dollars invested in infrastructure in developing economies, between 49,000 and 110,000 jobs are created.

Our borrowing policy will remain conservative and will see us access the lowest available funds, hence our decision to approach multilateral agencies in the first instance, for budget support at concessional rates as low as 1.5% per annum. We have also secured commitments from Export Credit Agencies that are tied to specific capital projects including key initiatives in power, transport and other infrastructure, and at semi-concessional rates. The balance will be sourced commercially to create a blended cost of capital that’s as low as possible. We are addressing the relatively high debt service to revenue ratio which saw 28.1% of our 2015 revenues devoted to debt. This will be done through a systematic restructuring of inherited debt portfolio into a profile that is aligned with our medium term outlook as well as an increase in our revenues.
Borrowing is not our primary focus. Increasing our Internally Generated Revenue is critical because it is sustainable; and because much of the funds collected went unremitted to Government – something we are tackling now. Our Revenue Team holds daily revenue sessions with MDAs during which clear targets are set and agreed; monitoring and evaluation are continuous. We are deploying cash-less revenue collection processes in our high earning agencies to ensure maximisation of our receipts. We are working through Treasury Single Account balances with a view to identifying monies that can potentially be used to fund the budget and reduce borrowing.

Other costly leakages are being blocked. We have completed a detailed review of tax and duty waivers and discovered that in some cases, Nigeria lost significant revenues and with limited benefits. We are set to begin consultations with stakeholders on a revised policy aligned with the best interests of Nigeria.

Furthermore, we are identifying funds that can be released from hitherto untapped sources, including idle and underutilised government assets that have commercial potential including real estate. To this end, Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) is to become a professionally operated Asset Manager, rather than a passive holder of government assets. It will be actively managed to ‘sweat’ Nigeria’s very valuable global asset portfolio. This will generate earnings and constitute additional budget funding.

Gradually and with the requisite safeguards, we will authorise the investment of part of the estimated N6Tn currently held in pension funds into key infrastructure that will provide workers with higher returns on their pension funds while enhancing capital formation and economic growth. Nigeria’s first ever Project Tied Infrastructure Bonds are being designed. These are novel structures that will see borrowings tied to specific revenue generating projects, bringing private sector financial discipline to the project structuring and delivery process, thereby improving value.
Our first quarter-planned release of N350Bn is ready and is sure to have significant impact, in addition to exploring opportunities to reduce contract prices. Our conditions for release of funds are clear and the mandate is a simple one: to define and agree the number of Nigerians to be engaged as a result of this funding. Priority will be given, without apology, to those creating jobs and opportunity for Nigerians. This level of investment, predominantly capital, exceeds the total capital spend for the whole of 2015 and the tempo will be sustained until the green shoots of recovery begin to appear.

John Maynard Keynes’ famous quote on fiscal stimulus - that when economies are depressed, “Government should pay one man to dig a hole and pay another to fill it back” - is an extreme example and suggests an economic benefit in seemingly pointless activity. In Nigeria’s case, the activity to be triggered will be a fully productive one. We will pay men and women to meet our critical needs in power, transport, housing, agriculture, solid minerals, health and education - and lay the foundation for a collective future that is more positive than our current situation may suggest.
One of Nigeria’s greatest strengths is the resilience of her people. Even beyond our shores it is widely acknowledged that if you can survive in Nigeria, you can thrive anywhere. Our ability to overcome obstacles and our ingenuity in exploiting opportunities, are legendary; our economic policy will ensure more of us succeed in creating wealth. There is sufficient diversity of opportunity which our capital investment can unlock. We will always celebrate the emergence of billionaires, of course, but we recognise that a thousand millionaires have greater fiscal impact. Therefore, where the number of private jets was touted in the past as a measure of success, we will take pride in the number of people lifted out of poverty, and the number of new jobs created.

The idea that Nigeria can succeed this time is, for some, unthinkable. But for those of us privileged to be part of this determinedly patriotic team led by President Muhammadu Buhari, it is and will be possible.

Mrs. Kemi Adeosun is the Honourable Minister of Finance, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Follow the Federal Ministry of Finance on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/FinanceNigeria

Like the Federal Ministry of Finance on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/FinanceNigeria/

adconline:
You reduced ministries from 42 to 19- reduction by over 50%, but you went ahead and increased recurrent expenditure by 50%. A govt that is hell bent on plugging leakages and reducing the cost of governance should have lowered cost of running govt by 50% since it merged most of the ministries. Instead, we have presidency appropriating billions for clinic, food, books etc. GMB increased his budget by N14.6bn -37% greater than last year, when he's asking Nigerians to make sacrifices.. This is sheer profligacy and hypocrisy.
GMB never denied that the budget was padded on Jazerra, rather, he blamed others for padding the budget.

"Don't tell me what you value, show me your budget and I'll tell you what you value"-Joe Bidden

As per N500bn, this is another money for the boys and cronies/sychophants.. This is the largest amount allocated to a program without any structure.. Mins of Defence, power/works and Education got close to N400bn, but a program with no physical address nor a minister got allocated with N500bn?? Who is going manage and administer this fund?? This a slush fund for Politrickians and cronies who had invested in the last election

adconline:
You reduced ministries from 42 to 19- reduction by over 50%, but you went ahead and increased recurrent expenditure by 50%. A govt that is hell bent on plugging leakages and reducing the cost of governance should have lowered cost of running govt by 50% since it merged most of the ministries. Instead, we have presidency appropriating billions for clinic, food, books etc. GMB increased his budget by N14.6bn -37% greater than last year, when he's asking Nigerians to make sacrifices.. This is sheer profligacy and hypocrisy.
GMB never denied that the budget was padded on Jazerra, rather, he blamed others for padding the budget.

"Don't tell me what you value, show me your budget and I'll tell you what you value"-Joe Bidden

As per N500bn, this is another money for the boys and cronies/sychophants.. This is the largest amount allocated to a program without any structure.. Mins of Defence, power/works and Education got close to N400bn, but a program with no physical address nor a minister got allocated with N500bn?? Who is going manage and administer this fund?? This a slush fund for Politrickians and cronies who had invested in the last election

Obiagelli:
Loads of bullsh.t, articulate your point one by one.

Obiagelli:
Loads of bullsh.t, articulate your point one by one.

otil1:
Nothing in the article is revolutionary or strategic ane u want Fp.

Can this administration mention one new initiative pls.

Everything is copy, paste and rename. E.g. YES which is an adulterated version of Youwin.

I don dey tire

mej67:
So you agree that current YES programme is copied?