The 21st Nigerian Economic Summit has ended in Abuja with far-reaching recommendations.

The 21st Nigerian Economic Summit has ended in Abuja with far-reaching recommendations.
Stakeholders at the summit want the APC-led administration under President MUHAMMADU BUHARI to implement the recommendations to achieve its Change Agenda for the economy.
The recommendations include the implementation of the Steve Orosanye Report on civil service restructuring with a new appraisal metrics that track, measure and reward performance.
Economic experts at the summit also resolved that there was need to restructure and passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, by breaking it up into manageable issue-specific laws.
If professionals who attended the summit had their way, at least twenty percent of the annual budget of government will be devoted to education, which still is a shortfall from the twenty-six percent recommended by UNESCO.
The report also canvassed for government to treat teachers like soldiers, relevant to national security, advising that they should be trained, enhanced, recognized and rewarded.
Additionally; the summit wants the Buhari Administration to implement the laws on national skills standardization, certification and apprenticeship programmes, as well as to raise the quality and standards of universities to check the outflow of students to foreign countries.
On the other hand; the academia is required to develop curriculum in conjunction with the employers of labour, so that skills needed by employers are reflected in the curriculum.
The summit recommended the privatization of teaching hospitals and the conversion of one thousand hospital beds in five teaching hospitals into world class private wings, with the compliment of funding, expertise and management by world class healthcare companies.
It is also the expectation of the professionals for Nigeria to achieve universal basic health coverage through innovative funding in insurance and micro-insurance solutions, and to provide tax incentives and government funded research grants to local manufacturers of pharmaceutical products.
On power generation; the economic summit made a case for the private sector to be encouraged to provide twenty thousand megawatt of electricity.
The report noted that government revenue would not be able to fund all the projects calling for immediate attention; hence the need to employ public private partnership in dealing with infrastructure.
Other areas of urgent national economic importance to stakeholders at the summit include strengthening of security, unlocking of small and medium scale enterprises and promotion of entrepreneurial drive.
The final report of 21st Nigerian Economic Summit was presented by ABUBAKAR SULEIMAN of Sterling Bank, to President MUHAMMADU BUHARI through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, BABACHIR LAWAL.