President Muhammadu Buhari has launched a new long-term national development plan, known as Nigeria Agenda 2050 (NA 2050).
He inaugurated NA 2050, yesterday, in Abuja, before the commencement of Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.
NA 2050 is aimed at ensuring Nigeria attains a GDP per capita of $33,328 per annum, placing the country among the top middle-income economies in the world by 2050. GDP per capita is a measure of a country’s total economic output divided by its total population.
According to World Bank data, Nigeria’s GDP per capita was $2,065.7 in 2021.
Speaking at the launch, Buhari said the plan has the vision of a dynamic, industrialised and knowledge-based economy that generates inclusive and sustainable development for the country.
He said given measures already put in place for continuous plan implementation, successive administrations would find the document useful in the delivery of electoral promises.
‘‘You will recall that in March, 2020, I approved the development of successor plans to both Nigeria Vision 20:2020 and the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), 2017-2020. The Plans lapsed in December, 2020. To give effect to this approval, I inaugurated the National Steering Committee in September, 2020 under the leadership of the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning and a distinguished private sector operator, Mr. Atedo Peterside.
‘‘The Steering Committee is to superintend the preparation of the Nigeria Agenda 2050 and the National Development Plan (NDP), 2021-2025 to succeed the Nigeria Vision 20: 2020 and Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), 2017-2020, respectively.
‘‘At the inauguration, I charged the Steering Committee to prepare inclusive plans that would cover all shades of opinion and ensure even and balanced development, as well as put in place necessary legislations for continuous implementation of Plans even after the expiration of the tenure of successive Administrations. This was achieved with the preparation of the Volume III of the NDP that deals with Legislative Imperatives for identified binding constraints to Plan implementation in Nigeria. It is instructive to inform the Council and indeed all Nigerians that I had on December 22, 2021 launched the first of the six number 5-year medium term plans, the National Development Plan (NDP), 2021-2025, that will be used to implement the Long-Term Plan. Council also on March 15, 2023 approved the Nigeria Agenda 2050 that we are launching today.”
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed,said the plan was formulated against the backdrop of subsisting economic and social challenges facing the country.
She listed the challenges to include fragile and non-inclusive growth, insecurity, high population growth rate, limited concentric economic diversification and low productivity.
‘‘The Plan is a long-term economic transformation blueprint designed to address these challenges,’’ the minister said.
