Worried by the growing statistics from international humanitarian organizations, President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the newly constituted Economic Advisory Council (ECA) to seek home-grown solutions to the economic crisis.
Buhari made the appeal on Wednesday, 9th October 2019 at the Presidential Villa in Abuja while inaugurating the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (EAC) which was constituted on September 16, 2019, replacing the Economic Management Team (EMT).
Buhari tasked the ECA to proffer home-grown ideas and solutions to the economic crisis; coordinating and synthesizing ideas and efforts on how to, in collaboration with various employment generating agencies, lift 100 million citizens out of poverty in 10 years as well as developing reliable data that will properly reflect what is happening in the country.
According to the president, “We can only plan realistically when we have reliable data.”
Buhari also stated that the impact of hundreds of millions of dollars that the international organizations claimed to have spent on the internally displaced persons in the northeast was “rarely” seen on the ground.
“Today, we hear international organizations claiming to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on IDPs in the North East.
But when you visit the camps, you rarely see the impact.
He also noted that in 2017, when the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) took over the feeding of some IDPs in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa, the amount we spent was significantly lower than the claims made by these international organizations.
President Buhari looked forward to receiving baseline study as he opined it will help his administration shape ideas for a sustainable and prosperous economy and future of Nigeria.
