Ahead of next week’s Nigerian Economic Summit, an annual event where the public and private sector stakeholders deliberate on developmental issues, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said focusing on far pressing national issues should be the objective of the meeting this year.
The Vice President said this when the NESG team briefed him on the agenda, particularly the theme of the 28th Nigerian Economic Summit (NES), ‘2023 and Beyond: Priorities for Shared Prosperity’, scheduled for the 14th and 15th of November, 2022.
“Sometimes we talk about a lot of important things, but there are pressing, immediate things with significance for the future,” Prof Osinbajo told a delegation of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group.
“I am always concerned we don’t allow very many issues to obscure the more important issues that confront us today so that we leave the Summit with a clearer view on how we can resolve the pressing issues.
“For example, how do we tackle the rising inflation and the exchange rate instability? I really think we should spend more time focusing on the primary issues of inflation and exchange rate control.
“I strongly believe in the objectives of the NESG, it has contributed a lot to how the public sector thinks through policies and has provided that forum for public sector accountability.
“The NESG has also been very useful in educating the private sector about the processes of running a complex system such as the one that we have. It has been a very useful synergy between the public and the private sector,” he said.
Stressing the significance of the private sector’s perspective to macroeconomic issues, Osinbajo said: “It is very important to always note what you (private sector experts) think are the main concerns today especially about macroeconomics and how to deal with the issues. What the private sector thinks about how we can resolve some of these issues is important.”
In his remarks, the chairman of the Board of NESG, Mr Asue Ighodalo, commended the Vice President for the great results in the ease of doing business, saying that “you have done a fantastic job on ease of doing business, regardless of the challenges that we are confronted with today.”
He reiterated the commitment of the group to collaborate more with the public sector and expressed optimism that despite the challenges, “this government can still do much more before it leaves. At the NESG, we believe that the next six months are very critical.”
The 28th NES will feature President Muhammadu Buhari, the Vice President and other leaders from the public and private sectors, sharing thoughts on visionary leadership and inclusive growth, among other topics.
