The Federal Government has unveiled the outcomes of its review of the accelerated stabilization and advancement plan, which aims to inject N2tn into the economy over the next six months.
President Bola Tinubu, during the inauguration of the 31-member Presidential Economic Coordination Council (PECC) at Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, on Thursday, expressed his administration’s commitment to increasing crude oil production to two million barrels per day and boosting electricity generation for Nigerians in the coming months. He criticized the current levels of power generation and crude oil production as “shameful.”
The PECC, established on March 27, 2024, includes 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. It also features 13 representatives from the organized private sector, including prominent figures like Aliko Dangote, Tony Elumelu, and Abdulsamad Rabiu, who will serve on the council for one year.
Addressing the private sector representatives, Tinubu said, “As a nation, it is so shameful that we have about 4.5 gigawatts. We must increase our oil production to 2 million barrels per day within the next few months. Remove all barriers hindering investments into the sector to enhance competitiveness.”
Despite being Africa’s largest oil producer, Nigeria has struggled to meet its OPEC production quotas due to pipeline vandalism, oil theft, and operational inefficiencies. In May 2024, crude oil production averaged only 1.25 million barrels per day, well below the OPEC+ quota and the government’s target of 1.7 million bpd for budgetary purposes. Similarly, the nation’s power generation capacity of 4.5 gigawatts is inadequate for the industrial needs of over 200 million citizens, leading to frequent power outages and stifling economic productivity.
Tinubu emphasized the administration’s determination to partner with the private sector to overcome these hurdles. He stressed the importance of food security and recalled his previous policies, including declaring a state of emergency on food security and improving mechanization to boost staple crop production by smallholder farmers. Tinubu also highlighted the Sokoto-Badagry road project, announced at the last Federal Executive Council meeting, as part of his administration’s infrastructural development efforts.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, provided a breakdown of the emergency funding: N350bn for Health and Social Welfare, N500bn for Agriculture and Food Security, N500bn for the Energy and Power sector, and general business support of about N650bn.
Edun explained, “The President has just inaugurated the Presidential Economic Coordination Council, a body that includes the President’s Economic Management Team, the Legislature, and the private sector. They were presented with the outcomes of Mr. President’s review of the accelerated stabilization and advancement plan for the next six months.”
Aliko Dangote, Chairman of Dangote Group, assured that the private sector would “invest heavily” in job-creating initiatives, expressing confidence that Nigeria’s economy could be turned around within a few months. He emphasized the need for effective implementation of policies to drive economic growth.
The PECC also includes the Ministers of Agriculture and Food Security; Aviation and Aerospace Development; Budget and Economic Planning; Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy; Industry, Trade and Investment; Labour and Employment; Marine and Blue Economy; Power; Petroleum Resources (State); Gas (State); Transportation; and Works.
Other private sector members include Ms. Amina Maina, Mr. Begun Ajayi-Kadir, Mrs. Funke Okpeke, Dr. Doyin Salami, Mr. Patrick Okigbo, Mr. Kola Adesina, Mr. Segun Agbaje, Mr. Chidi Ajaere, Mr. Abdulkadir Aliu, and Mr. Rasheed Sarumi.
The inauguration of the PECC is part of Tinubu’s efforts to re-engineer the nation’s economic governance framework. The council’s creation follows the discontinuation of petrol subsidies and the unification of foreign exchange rates to curb currency arbitrage, moves that have sparked significant instability in the value of the naira and increased food prices.
Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, noted that the establishment of the PECC is a strategic move to ensure robust and coordinated economic planning and implementation to tackle the nation’s economic challenges head-on.
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