The Federal Government is presently working on a collaboration between the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Investment Authority and other stakeholders to establish an Infrastructure Company Fund.
According to the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, the N15 trillion Infrastructure Company Fund will address some of the nation’s critical infrastructure needs.
Osinbajo, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari at the opening session of the 26th Nigerian Economic Summit Group Conference themed ‘Building partnerships for resilience’, said, in his virtual speech, on Monday that the Fund will be managed independently.
“The Infraco Fund will help to close the national infrastructural gap and provide a firm basis for increasing national economic productivity and growth,” the President explained.
Speaking on the rising inflation rate, he said to reduce the impact of inflation on Nigerians, the Federal Government, through the 2020 Finance Bill, has proposed to exempt minimum wage earners from paying Personal Income Tax.
He said, “We are proposing in the new Finance Act that those who earn minimum wage should be exempted from paying income tax.
“These provisions which complement the tax breaks given to small businesses last year will not only further stimulate the economy, but are also a fulfilment of promises made to take steps to help reduce the cost of transportation and the impact of inflation on ordinary Nigerians.”
The President added it was obvious that Nigeria must diversify from crude oil, speed up investment in infrastructure and improve human capital investment.
“Above all, our economy must be made more resilient to exogenous shocks,” he said.