BudgIT Recommends Policies to Spur Economic Growth

BudgIT, a civic organisation in its latest publication titled: ‘Investing in People,’ examined Nigeria’s economic challenges and recommended six broad goals - with 18 priority actions that would effectively end poverty, improve health, advance education, reduce inequality and spur economic growth.

According to the report, the goals cover critical sectors of the economy like demography and population, health, education, access to capital and the macro-economy.

The organisation noted that the continuous opacity around public financing and low investments in critical sectors has consistently produced weak institutions and massive opportunities for waste and corruption at both the national and subnational levels.

According to BudgIT, it has been 60 years since independence, and Nigeria’s pathway to economic prosperity remains unclear. It noted that with an estimated population of 200 million people, 13.9 million unemployed youths, N300 million average investment in health tertiary institutions and over 40,100 million Nigerians living below the poverty line; there was an urgent need to implement strategies that would effectively raise higher revenues and leverage Nigeria’s human capital for wealth through institutional reforms, equal access to loans advanced by banks, strong civic space for citizens inclusion and an effective micro economic environment.