President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the government will create 21 million jobs and lift 35 million Nigerians out of poverty by 2025.
Buhari said a new plan titled “New National Development Plan (2021-2025) will be ready in a few weeks to enable Nigeria to achieve the target.
Buhari, who was represented by vice president Yemi Osinbajo at the ongoing 27th Nigeria Economic Summit in Abuja, said there’s still much work to be done in achieving Nigeria’s goal to reduce poverty and unemployment.
The president noted that Nigeria has already been projected to be the third most populated country in the world by 2050, which will put pressure on food, infrastructure, energy, healthcare among others, hence the need for urgent action.
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The president informed that the new medium national development plan is nearing finalisation and will be adopted by the government in few weeks. He said the plan was developed through an inclusive process involving the private and public sectors.
According to him, the broad objectives of this new plan are to diversify the economy, invest in critical infrastructure, build human capital and improve governance and security.
“This is to ensure broad-based and inclusive GDP to create 21 million jobs and lift 35 million people out of poverty by 2025. This ambitious target is consistent with the government’s vision of lifting 100 million Nigerians in a decade.
“The starting point for the implementation of the plan is to realise that increased implementation is an indispensable tool for reduced poverty,” Buhari said.
To this end, he said, labour-intensive sectors like manufacturing are receiving attention to create a large number of jobs and can generate significant exports.
The president further said Nigeria must indeed take urgent action especially with the African Continental Free trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA).
