The Federal Government is targeting a 5% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, 21 million jobs and the lifting of 35 million people out of poverty in the National Development Plan 2021-2025.
The draft of the plan was presented to Fridays virtual meeting of the National Economic Council, (NEC), presided over by Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo.
The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, who briefed the media after the meeting, said that the National Development Plan 2021-2025 is a successor plan to the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan 2017-2020.
According to Agba, the main objective of the National Development Plan 2021-2025 is to: Establish a strong foundation for a concentric diversified economy with robust MSME growth and a more resilient environment.
Other objectives of the plan is to invest in critical physical financial, digital, innovation infrastructure; to build a solid framework and enhancing capacities to strengthen security and ensure good governance; and to enable a vibrant educated and healthy population.
According to Agba, the plan is structured into six thematic areas, including economic growth and development, infrastructure, public administration, human capital development, social development, regional planning.
He said that the plan sets measures to ensure inclusiveness and to create opportunities for young people, women and vulnerable people through mainstreaming adding that there is a financing plan to increase revenue to 15 percent of GDP by 2025 and to decrease the budget deficit.
Others are measures to diversify revenue and increase the tax-to-GDP ratio by improving tax administration, including the informal sector, and widening the tax base.
The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning also gave the Council an update on Nigerias special accounts, including the Excess Crude Account, which as of October 13, 2021, stood at $60, 857,773.43; the Stabilisation Account, which stood at N25,009,892,511.55; and the Development of the Natural Resources Account, which stood at N56,144,024,000.71.
