The 30th edition of the Nigerian Economic Summit, organized by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), a private sector platform conceived in 1993 and incorporated in 1996 is currently holding in Abuja. This year’s edition is scheduled for Monday 14th October – Wednesday 16th October 2024 at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
This year’s economic summit with the Theme “Collaborative Action for Growth, Competitiveness, and Stability” is the latest installment in the offering of the group, which has outperformed scores of similar government and private economic institutions and is devoted to analyzing economic data and sharing perspectives on Nigerian economy.
30th Economic Summit: The story so far
In his opening remarks on Day 1 of the event, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu stated his administration had ‘prioritised investments in critical infrastructure, enhanced social safety nets, and promoted innovation across all sectors’ while also making significant strides in addressing several key issues, including regulatory bottlenecks and ease of doing business challenges.
President Tinubu further stated that various programmes, such as the MSME hubs and single-digit loans for manufacturers have been designed to provide entrepreneurs with the support they need to succeed, further boosting the economy and ensuring it remains competitive in Africa and globally. The president also pointed out programmes like the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy and other livelihood support initiatives critical to millions of Nigerians are already been expanded to extend its reach to a greater part of the country’s population.
Also speaking on Day 1 of the Event, Indermit Gill, Senior Vice President of the World Bank Group stated that the reforms being implemented by the current administration must continue for a period of 10-15 years to reverse the loss of N10 trillion enjoyed by the elite through fuel subsidies and multiple foreign exchange rates. He noted that while implementing these reforms will be challenging, it is essential to persevere on the path of the reforms because the rewards of the reforms would be massive if sustained.
Day 2 included a discussion on, “Shaping Africa’s Innovation Frontiers: Entrepreneurship, Ecosystem, and Governance,” a discussion which assessed the need to build an ecosystem that favours entrepreneurship across Africa, “Fuelling Growth: The Future of Oil and Gas” where panelists discussed Nigeria’s role in the rapidly evolving oil and gas market as well as a discussion on “Empowering SMEs for Economic Growth” centered on the pivotal role small and medium-sized enterprises play in driving economic growth and job creation.
More Cash Transfer in the Pipelines for ‘Poor’ Nigerians
On day 2 of the ongoing summit, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, revealed that the increase in Nigeria’s revenue recorded in the 2024 fiscal year is currently being strategically allocated to various social intervention programmes aimed at improving the living standards of citizens and addressing pressing societal needs.
Speaking during a panel session on ‘Fiscal Reforms for a More Secure Future’, Mr. Edun revealed that the direct transfers from the government were targeted to reach 60 per cent poorest in the population, representing about 20 million people across 4 million households are currently being supported with plans underway to scale up the initiative to reach 15 million households.
Federal Government Cash Transfer: A Controversial Initiative
In 2016, the FGN in collaboration with the World Bank announced its plans to share N5000 each to one million Nigerians as part of its N500billion social investment program which was carried out until the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in 2023, despite allegations of corruption in certain quarters with regards to the modalities for determining low income earning Nigerians.
These allegations have continued under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu leading to the suspension of Dr. Betta Edu, Minister of Human Affairs and Poverty Alleviation since January, 2024. There are also questions as to how much should be enough for the beneficiary households in the face of the country’s growing inflation rate with the N5,000 disbursed to households at inception deemed not good enough.
In September 2024, the National Social Investment Programme Agency shared N20.96bn among 838,223 households with each beneficiary household receiving N25,000 through their designated Financial Service Providers.
NSIPA National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer, Badamasi Lawal, revealed that in addition to reducing poverty, the programme was expected to improve household finances and promote savings. However, in light of the 32.70 inflation rate announced by the NBS in September 2024 and the hike in fuel prices, this expectation seems to be unachievable.
There is also a controversy as to how the poorest and most vulnerable households are identified for inclusion in the social register with the community targeting approach currently used merely relying on “subjective assessment,” which might not represent the household’s actual poverty level leading to allegations of families being selected based on loyalty and personal relationships with community leaders.
What you should know
It is left to be seen how the latest batch of the Federal Government cash transfer would go, especially with regards to ensuring the money is disbursed to the ‘true’ poorer Nigerians, but it is expected that in the next few months, the program would be scaled up to incorporate more Nigerians and help them soften the impact of the country’s growing inflation.
