PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has charged the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), to conceive home-grown solutions to boost the economy and meet the national ambition of collective prosperity.
The president disclosed this during the inauguration of the PEAC on Wednesday.
Buhari urged the eight-man advisory council to produce sustainable and suitable initiatives for the country to bring to reality, the goal of lifting a hundred Nigerians out of poverty in ten years.
According to him, the country has exited recession, but the economy was lagging sustainable initiatives for her local context.
Also, in a series of tweets on the nation’s twitter handle @NGRPresident Buhari urged the PEAC to prioritize the collection of primary data to help set up realistic plans.
According to him, most of the statistics quoted about Nigeria are developed abroad by the World Bank, IMF and other foreign bodies. He said they are wild estimates that bear little relation to the facts on the ground.
He said, “We must domesticate our policies to reflect our local realities”.
Buhari noted his government was taking serious steps towards improving the quality of data available for policymaking.
“While we very much welcome the cooperation and support we are getting from our friends abroad, it is important to make it clear that Nigeria can only truly move forward with homegrown solutions,” Buhari said.
However, he expressed his gratitude over their consent to serve the country while stating his hope on receiving baseline studies that will help shape the holistic economic effort of the government.
He noted that all key MDAs will be available to meet with the council to liaise on conduits for creating a Nigeria that works.
Recalled, the PEAC was constituted on September 16 by the president, replacing the Economic Management Team (EMT) headed by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.
The PEAC is to advise the president on fiscal analysis, economic growth, internal and global economic issues whilst finding better ways to work with the relevant cabinet members and heads of monetary and fiscal agencies.