The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, today restated the present administration’s commitment to revenue generation drive as a strategic option of mobilising more funds required to sustain the nation’s economic growth.
The Minister, who made this known at a meeting with a World Bank Mission of 10 Executive Directors led by Mr. Patrizio Pagano, in Abuja, stressed that government would accelerate growth level and also improve the nation’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ rating.
She said: “The Nigerian Government is working towards accelerating the country’s growth level. The growth will be underpinned by stimulating the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ in Nigeria and improving our capital expenditure which we have done in the last two years.
“Nigerians should trust the Government to deliver on its promises of improving the economy and providing sustainable infrastructure development. We are very optimistic but we will remain vigilant.”
A statement by her Special Adviser, Media and Communications, Oluyinka Adekunle, quoted the minister as also disclosing that the country’s tax payers’ base has risen from 14 million in 2016 to 19 million currently from the 65 million economically active people in the country.
She projected that by 2019, the growth will be stronger than the present level and expressed optimism in government’s sustaining economic growth, adding that hence the current efforts to mobilize adequate revenue through tax payments.
The Leader of the World Bank Mission to Nigeria, Patrizio Pagano, explained that the team was in the country to acquaint itself with the government’s growth and power priorities.
He confirmed that the team had met with several Nigerian entrepreneurs and had seen how vibrant the private sector remained, adding that the team also wishes to understand how the power sector is evolving in the country.
Earlier, the team had met with the organised private sector in Lagos and undertaken a tour of LAPO Microfinance project in Lagos.
The 10 World Bank’s Executive Directors, representing 96 countries, are expected to inspect the Azura Power Plant in Edo State in the course of their three-day visit to Nigeria.
The interactions with the OPS players and facility tours of power infrastructure projects are expected to provide the team first-hand impression of the challenges that both the Federal and State Governments are face in implementing development projects as well as ensuring good governance overall.
