President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the goal of the government is to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.
Buhari told the 8-member Economic Advisory Council (EAC), drawn from the private sector, to focus on primary data collection that would be reliable for planning.
Speaking at the first meeting of the council on Wednesday, Buhari said that a lot of the data quoted about Nigeria were wild estimates and that Nigeria could only plan realistically when there are reliable data.
“I look forward to receiving your baseline studies as this will help shape our economic efforts.
“I want to thank you for agreeing to serve Nigeria. Your task cannot be more important. Our goal is to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.
He said that though Nigeria exited from recession, but “our economic growth rate was still not fast enough to meet our national ambition of collective prosperity”.
“We must move forward with home grown solutions suitable to our local context. Our efforts must be both suitable and sustainable.
All key MDAs will be available to meet with you and discuss how we can create a Nigeria that works for all.
The Council will hold its technical sessions monthly, meeting by itself and also with Nigerian government officials and will meet with the president quarterly or as the need arises.
The EAC was named in September with Prof. Doyin Salami as Chairman and Dr. Mohammed Sagagi as Vice Chairman.
Other members are Prof. Ode Ojowu, Mr. Shehu Yahaya, Mrs. Iyabo Masha, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, Mr. Bismarch Rewani and Dr Mohammed Salisu.
MM/GIK/APA