President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said the plan by his administration to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty did not come by accident and still possible.
Buhari, who spoke at a meeting with the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) at the State House, with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in attendance, said it was a deliberate action that will be pursued with determination.
The President wondered what became of the nation in the past, “with all the resources available to it” as he agreed with the council that the country required a poverty reduction strategy for a rapid and sustainable economic development.
PEAC Chairman, Doyin Salami, led the presentation and would brief Ministers at the FEC meeting on Wednesday.
Salami expressed delight at the country’s exit from recession but cautioned that the strength of the economic growth must be driven in a way that it will overtake population growth.
The poverty reduction strategy advised federal and state governments to increase agricultural productivity, address poverty, ensure macro-economic stability, and use economic endowments to boost industrialisation.
The council’s suggestion for the establishment of a “National Council on Poverty Reduction,” made up of key stakeholders, was accepted by the President.
