The Federal Government yesterday reassured that the National Development Plan (2021-2025) and associated strategies were formulated to reflect emerging threats and opportunities while developing a clear path achieving the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, this in Abuja at the 52nd national conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), themed: “Nigeria: Adopting Sustainability for Economic Prosperity.”
Recall that the Minister, had, on the sidelines of the recently-concluded, 77th UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, informed that Nigeria would require about $100 billion to finance the SDGs, which led to the launch of the Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF).
The UN adopted the 17 SDGs in 2015, as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 no one is left behind in the global peace and prosperity.
Ahmed, represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Finance and Economy, Dr Sarah Alade, reiterated the government’s commitment to funding the SDGs, adding that the INFF aims to enhance revenue collection at the national and sub-national levels.
She said the government is not only bound by inclusive and measurable growth, but also in terms of the environment price, social consequence and potential implication for posterity and long-term stability.
To this end, she said the government instituted reforms to put Nigeria on a steady path of sustained growth, which include: strengthening and continued implementation of the strategic revenue growth initiatives to shore up government revenues, reduce financing pressures, and expand the fiscal space.
The aim is, “to digitalise, optimise and make the tax system much more effective, better coordinate the budget processes, and make public spending much more effective.”
We have been reluctant to eradicate the unsustainable practice of fuel subsidy. We maintain refineries that are not productive, and our nation is still largely classified as a fossil fuel economy.
Enhancing growth
The Minister noted that the government is also enhancing growth in non-oil exports through fiscal and trade incentives as well as improving and sustaining political and macroeconomic stability, while addressing security and infrastructural challenges.
These are expected to attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs), and improve the monitoring and tracking revenue from government-owned enterprises (GOEs), “to make these enterprises financially and commercially viable so that they will have no recourse to the government for funding,” she added.
Ahmed charged the accountants to lead innovations around sustainability and sustainable reporting. “Combating wastage and mismanagement are crucial components of financial sustainability, and the accounting profession does have a sacred responsibility in this regard.”
The 58th President of ICAN, Tijani Musa, noted that with an average growth of 3.54% post-COVID, due to persistent low oil production and rising insecurity, the Nigerian economy is not yet out of the woods.
He noted that the persistent funding of recurrent expenditure with long term debts doomed Nigeria to recurring negative economic realities, as no real development would proceed therefrom.
“We have been reluctant to eradicate the unsustainable practice of fuel subsidy. We maintain refineries that are not productive, and our nation is still largely classified as a fossil fuel economy,” he added.
He added that “Even with the recent modest diversification of the nation’s income from the export of crude oil, our export/import dynamics are still unsustainable.”
He warned that “As long as we export primary products and import finished/processed goods, we will continue to be at the mercy of fluctuating external economic dynamics.”
