Secretary to the National Planning Commission, Bassey Okon Akpanyung,
has disclosed that, the theme for the 2015 Nigerian Economic Summit is
“Tough Choices: Achieving Competitiveness, Inclusive Growth and
Sustainability”
He disclosed this in his address during a joint pre-summit press
briefing on Thursday, at the Summit House Ikoyi, Lagos.
National Planning Commission in partnership with the Nigerian Economic
Summit Group (NESG), a private sector funded think-tank, research and
policy advocacy group is set to host the annual economic summit, the
twenty-first (NES#21) in Abuja in October 2015.
The Secretary stated that “the Summit has over the years contributed
immensely to strengthening the relationship between the public and
private sectors, and the transformation of Nigeria’s economy. It is
also reassuring to note that the key outcomes of the Summit have
helped in influencing policies since the inception of the Summit
arrangement”
Explaining further, Akpanyung said that, experience world-wide has
shown that issues on unemployment, insecurity, corruption and
inclusive growth cannot be tackled effectively without addressing the
competitiveness of the economy.
He added that, the choice of the Summit’s theme is consistent with the
aspirations of the present administration’s Change Agenda and the
medium term successor strategic plan, 2016-2020 which focused on
fighting corruption, addressing unemployment, insecurity,
institutional reforms, economic growth and development
Accordingly, Akpanyung reassured that, the current Administration
remains committed to the economic development of the country and is
also determined to hold people accountable and ensure that business
activities in both public and private sectors are carried out
effectively and transparently in line with global best practice
The Nigerian Economic Summit has become the largest and most
prestigious annual economic forum for policy makers and captains of
industry from the public and private sectors of the Nigerian economy,
as we as representatives of academia, civil society organizations and
development partners.
It also provides opportunity for participants to interact and share
thoughts on key issues and challenges facing the Nigerian economy,
with a view to evolving a common strategy and policy framework for
addressing them.
Laoye Jaiyeola, Chief Executive Officer of the NESG, also explained
that the Summit seeks to examine and facilitate stakeholders’
consensus on the tough choices that need to be made in order to
achieve competitiveness and inclusive growth in a sustainable way,
through measurable outcomes