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The federal government has disclosed that the much-anticipated development blueprint, Agenda 2050, was being finalised for launch, with a target of catapulting Nigeria into a $12 trillion gross domestic product (GDP) economy in the next 17 years. The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, made the disclosure in a keynote address presented at the launch of the National Plan on Financing Safe Schools in Nigeria. The Plan is a national investment response aimed at protecting ‘At-risk’ schools, learners, teachers, and non-teaching staff from attack.

At the event which took place in Abuja, the minister said: “I am pleased to inform you that our development agenda- Agenda 2050- is being finalised for launch. The development plan focuses on achieving inclusive growth through the implementation of the long-term economic transformation blueprint aimed at mitigating our current developmental challenges and attaining the upper middle-income country status. “With an average real GDP growth rate of 7%, a GDP of about US$12 trillion by 2050, and an end period per capita income of US$33,000 per annum. “These lofty targets can only be actualised if all critical stakeholders collaboratively create safer teaching and learning environments across Nigeria via critical intervention investments as captured in the validated cost plans of action.” On the financing of safe schools, the minister said the Plan which is a four-year investment plan was developed through rigorous consultative strategic engagements with all relevant critical stakeholders in the education and security sectors at national and sub-national levels such as the Federal Ministry of Education; Nigeria Police Force; Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC); Department of State Security (DSS); Defense Headquarters (Army, Navy and Air Force). According to her, the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory Ministries of Education, Finance and Budget, development partners; donor agencies and civil society organisations. Ahmed noted that the National Plan will be implemented between 2023 and 2026, with a total investment size of N144.8 billion. The Plan proposes N32.58 billion in 2023, N36.98 billion in 2024, N37.15 billion in 2025, and N38.03 billion in 2026, respectively. “To this end, the federal government has made a provision of N15 billion in the 2023 budget, leaving a funding gap of N13.6 billion in 2023, expected to be filled by state governments, agencies, the private sector, and development partners interested in supporting Nigeria,” the minister said. She encouraged all relevant stakeholders- national and subnational, to speedily facilitate implementation at various levels. She stressed: “Likewise, I urge development partners and civil society organisations to hold us accountable via periodic evaluation of our performance, which will complement the government’s tracking through the implementation of a robust financing safe schools secretariat Monitoring and Evaluation mechanism.” The National Plan on Financing Safe Schools aims to cover 50 per cent of the Most-At-Risk public schools over the medium term (2023-2026). Implementation will commence with the Very High-Risk States in 2023, while the implementation with the High-Risk States will follow in 2024.

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(This Day)