Nigeria’s Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo has responded to criticisms by world’s number one billionaire Bill Gates that the present administrations Economic and Growth Recovery Plan ERGP does not fully reflect the needs of Nigerians.

 

 

Osinbajo who made the response at the Expanded National Economic Council on Investment in Human Capital in Abuja, said all of the lofty ambitions contained in the plan can only be achieved through the determined application of human skill and effort.

 

 

“Nigeria has strong economic growth and development ambitions encapsulated in our economic Recovery and growth plan which we launched in 2017.

 

 

“All of those lofty ambitions can only be achieved through the determined application of human skill and effort and for that effort to be meaningful and productive, it has to come from people who are healthy, educated and who empowered.

 

 

“It is this realisation that has helped us to ensure that one of the primary planks of our economic recovery and growth plan is ‘investing in people’; and it is for this reason that we are expanding the reach and quality of our health care through the National Health Insurance Scheme and working to guarantee basic education for all persons whilst also upgrading and modernising the quality of secondary and post-secondary education,” he stated.

 

 

He said the government was fully engaged both at the Federal and State levels to ensure that most of the issues raised by Gates’ were addressed.

 

 

“Let me reiterate that not only are we aware of the issues that you’ve outlined and many that have already been spoken of, but we are prepared to take on those challenges head-on and indeed we have no choice because the problem literally grows every day,” he said.