Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and National Planning, stated that the government is having difficulty paying salaries.
Speaking in Abuja, the Minister urged non-governmental organizations to assist the government in covering the gaps that it could not.
Bagudu, who was represented by the ministry’s Director of International Cooperation, Dr. Sampson Ebimaro, bemoaned the fact that Nigeria’s population is rapidly growing, and that unemployment is rising in the face of high inflation.
“Government faces enormous challenges, especially now; the government is facing a revenue deficit. There is no money anywhere in the country; the government is just managing to pay salaries.
“The growth rate is very slow and the population growth is fast pacing and increasing. Unemployment is surging in the midst of high inflation,” the minister said.
Dr Sarah Alade, a former acting governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, believes that the participation of Non-State Actors (NSAs) is critical to the federal government’s goal of lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty.
Alade, who was also Special Adviser on Finance and Economy to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, urged the government to work with NSAs to achieve economic development.
