Presidential Economic Coordination Council – President Tinubu Enlists Elumelu, Rewane, Dangote 28 Others

Amidst financial challenges, President Bola Tinubu launched a N2 trillion accelerated stabilization and progress plan on the 4^th of July 2024 with the goal of reviving the economy in the next six months.

At the State House in Abuja, the president revealed the idea at the formation of his Presidential Economic Coordination Council (PECC), which is composed of representatives from various economic and social sectors.

The PECC, which Tinubu personally chairs, was established on March 27, 2024. Members come from the national assembly, the federal and subnational governments, the commercial sector, and other sources.

Strangely, the president said nothing about the initiative’s potential funding source, which is estimated to cost around N2 trillion and target 4 cardinal issues in different sectors of the government

The president speaking at the inauguration ceremony acknowledged the poor state of many sectors and livelihood in the nation, speaking about the energy sector, the president called for cooperation if we are to achieve the aim of boosting the Nigeria’s grid electricity, while acknowledging the difficulties facing the country’s said sector which leave the country capacity of being able to only produce 4.5 gigawatts of shameful electricity.

He promised to raise oil production to two million barrels per day in the coming months and remove obstacles to investment in the oil industry.

Also, speaking of the difficulties the market is facing, especially with regard to food costs, and he indicated that he is open to hearing the private sector leaders’ suggestions for stabilizing the economy.

Additionally, he outlined the government’s intentions to support Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) and create a Manufacturing Stabilization Fund.

His words

“In the face of it, we have the challenge of energy security, we need to work together to include power, oil and gas to increase our own grids electricity. We are determined to do that with your cooperation, collaboration and recommendation.

As a nation, it is so shameful that we have about 4.5 gigawatts. We must increase our oil production too to 2 million barrels per day within the next few months, remove all barriers hindering investments into the sector to enhance competitiveness. We’ve had a challenge thrown at us and all of us will have to be careful.

I am ready to listen to you in all of that. You have seen us from close quarters but we are one. We feel the market pinches differently the price of food stuff and all of that. I believe Bismarck Rewane will be able to make additional suggestion on what we are lacking and what we should do to stabilize this economy”

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

Following the briefing, State House Correspondents were briefed by Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, who led a group of Council members in discussing the emergency financing priorities, which included the health, agriculture, and energy/power sectors.

• 350 billion Naira – Health and Social Welfare
• 650 billion Naira – Budgetary measures/Business support
• 500 billion Niara – Agricultural and Food Security
• 500 billion Niara – Energy and Power Security

Edun said, “The President has just inaugurated the Presidential Economic Coordination Council and that is a body that is made up of the President’s Economic Management Team, the Legislature, represented by the leaders of the National Assembly; the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as well as very importantly, the sub-nationals, represented by the chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, and, of course, the elite of the private sector.”

“They were presented with the outcomes of Mr. President’s review of the accelerated stabilization and advancement plan that was an emergency plan to cover the next six months, which Mr. President had directed that a combination of his own Economic Management Team and the sub-nationals, the governor’s level, and the private sector put together for his consideration.”

“The song of that very important exercise is that a N2 trillion package involving N350 billion funding for Health and Social Welfare; N500 billion funding for Agriculture and Food Security; N500 billion for the Energy and Power sector and general business support of about N650 billion.”

“In addition to a range of policy measures and tax measures, there is a range of executive orders which Mr. President has signed and which are being gazetted to ease the cost of doing business at this particular time”, he said.

“There are a number of funding, which will reduce the cost of interest rate for certain sectors in economy with small and medium scale in particular but also larger companies there is a line of credit that will allow them to fall cheaper than the elevated rate.

“This plan is a means of stabilising the economy and get business growing again, we know what has happened since the micro economic measures, which are necessary and have been implemented in a determined and consistent manner led to elevated cost for industries and for individuals,” 

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, 12 ministers, and Olayemi Cardoso, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), are among the other members of the 31-member Council.

Dangote, Elumelu, Alhaji Abdul Samad Rabiu, Ms. Amina Maina, Mr. Segun Ajayi-Kadir, Dr. Funke Opeke, Dr. Doyin Salami, Mr. Patrick Okigbo, Mr. Kola Adesina, Mr. Segun Agbaje, Mr. Chidi Ajaere, Mr. Abdulkadir Aliu, and Mr. Rasheed Sarumi are among the members of the Organized Private sector.

The council is to meet and give a detailed report to the president on a monthly basis.