Economic Council Inauguration: Nigeria’s Economy Can Grow in Months — Dangote

The Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has promised that the private sector will “invest heavily” in job-creating initiatives.

He expressed optimism that Nigeria’s economy can be turned around “within a few months” as the “issues are not that bad.”

Dangote shared his thoughts following the inauguration of a 31-member Presidential Economic Coordination Council (PECC) by President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja on Thursday. This event took place three months after the committee’s establishment on March 27, 2024.

The committee includes President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara State, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Yemi Cardoso. Additionally, 13 members from the organized private sector, including Dangote, UBA Chairman Tony Elumelu, and BUA Founder Abdulsamad Rabiu, will serve on the Council for one year.

Dangote emphasized the importance of collaboration between the private and public sectors to improve the lives of Nigerians.

“The private sector and the public sector will actually work together to make sure that we better a lot of our people… we are going to sit down and advise the government on the type of policies that should be rolled out. Most of these things have been discussed over and over. It is a matter of implementation.

The choice of people on the PECC is good enough to advise the government on how to implement it.”He continued, “Our role from the private sector is to invest heavily and create jobs. The government doesn’t really create jobs; what they do is give us the right policies.

I keep saying our issues are not that bad; this economy can be turned around within a few months, and I think we are on that path. I thank the President for inaugurating this Council. We will start working immediately, and I can assure you that you will see a lot of changes coming.”

Meanwhile, President Tinubu highlighted his administration’s determination to increase crude oil production to two million barrels per day and generate more electricity for Nigerians within the next few months.He described the current power generation and crude oil production levels as “shameful.”

“As a nation, it is so shameful that we have about 4.5 gigawatts of power generation. We must increase our oil production to two million barrels per day within the next few months and remove all barriers hindering investments into the sector to enhance competitiveness. We’ve had a challenge thrown at us, and all of us will have to be careful,” Tinubu said.

He attributed challenges such as pipeline vandalism, oil theft, and operational inefficiencies to the persistent shortfalls. In May 2024, crude oil production averaged only 1.25 million barrels per day, significantly below its OPEC+ quota and the government’s target of 1.7 million bpd for budgetary purposes.

Similarly, Nigeria’s power generation capacity remains critically low at 4.5 gigawatts, which is inadequate for the industrial needs of its over 200 million citizens, leading to frequent power outages and stifled economic productivity.

Nevertheless, Tinubu expressed his administration’s determination to partner with the private sector to overcome these hurdles.

“In the face of it, we have the challenge of energy security; we need to work together to improve power, oil, and gas to increase our grid’s electricity. We are determined to do that with your cooperation, collaboration, and recommendations,” he said.

The President also emphasized food security, describing it as “essential.” Reflecting on his policies from previous months, he stated, “I have declared a state of emergency on food security, and we must increase our staple crops by smallholder farmers; we are going to improve mechanization.”

Citing the Sokoto-Badagry road announced at the last Federal Executive Council meeting on June 25, Tinubu expressed hope that part of his administration’s infrastructural development is “within reach.”

He noted, “If you look at the Sokoto-Badagry road, there are about 36 areas with dams that we can tap electricity from and generate additional electricity, help agriculture, and create arable farmland.”