Vice
President-elect, Professor Yemi Osinbajo says the incoming government
will be inheriting an economy that is currently in perhaps its worst
moment in Nigeria's history. Professor Osinbajo said this during the
opening of a two-day policy dialogue on the implementation of the agenda
for change in Abuja today May 20th.
"We
are concerned that our economy is currently in perhaps its worst moment
in history. Local and international debt stands at $60 billion. Our debt
servicing bill for 2015 is N953.6 billion, about 21 per cent of our
Budget. On account of severely dwindled resources, over two-thirds of
the states in Nigeria owe salaries. Federal institutions are not in much
better shape. Today, the nation borrows to fund recurrent expenditure.
The figures of extreme poverty in our society- 110 million by current
estimates- makes it clear that our biggest national problem is the
extreme poverty of the majority. Thus, no analysis is required to
conclude that dealing with poverty and its implications is a priority.
In the course of the election campaign, we ran an issues-based campaign
that identified certain areas of public policy as high priorities for
propelling Nigeria forward. We addressed the challenges of the economy,
insecurity, corruption and jobs creation. We spoke on the challenge of
providing opportunities for self-actualization to millions of our young
people who face an uncertain future with understandable anxiety. We also
addressed the challenge of providing for the most vulnerable segments
of our population by equipping them with the tools to emerge from the
crippling limitations of poverty to achieve dignified and productive
citizenship. This is also against the backdrop of a highly unequal
society in which, by some reckoning, the largest chunk of the benefits
of our national wealth accrues to a small percentage of our population.
Our manifesto offered a vision of shared prosperity and socio-economic
inclusion for all Nigerians, that leaves no one behind in the pursuit of
a prosperous and fulfilling life. Our goal this morning is to
interrogate these positions and propositions before a wider audience and
to launch a robust public conversation on policy directions and
priorities that will help inform our administration's approach in the
next four years. This forum exemplifies the sort of consultative and
consensual approach to policy-making that our party and the new
administration intend to model in office."he said
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