The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N2.3 trillion stimulus plans for Nigeria’s economy as recommended by the economic sustainability committee led by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, announced the approval for the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP) at the end of the FEC meeting held Wednesday June 24.
The minister said, “The total package that we presented today is in the sum of N2.3 trillion. N500 billion of this is a stimulus package that is already provided for in the amended 2020 Appropriations Act.
“These are funds that we have sourced from special accounts. We also have N1.2 trillion of this funds to be sourced as structured low-cost loans which are interventions from CBN as well as other development partners and institutions,” Zainab adds.
According to her, they have N344 billion that will be sourced from bilateral and external sources and also additional funds that they can source locally.
Meanwhile, she highlighted that the goals of the NESP are: create jobs, pump money into the economy and hopefully stop it from slipping into recession, support small businesses and prioritise local content (Made-in-Nigeria).
Being a 12-month ‘Transit’ Plan between the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) and the ERGP-successor-plan currently being worked upon, the minister said,
“There is a strategy that has been adopted and this whole plan is to enable us respond to the triple problem of low exchange rate, youth unemployment as well as negative growth which is facing us now”.
“The plan has to also support small businesses that have suffered severe impact of COVID-19 as a result of lockdowns, especially, the hotel industry, private schools, restaurants as well as the transport sector have been very well impacted by this.”
