 Mr. President, in the very early days of the emergence of the COVID-19 crisis, you constituted a crisis committee headed by the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning to look at what the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic might be on the budget and the economy. Subsequently, on 30 March 2020, in response to what was then becoming a threat of the most severe economic downturn in our nation's history, largely caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, your Excellency directed me to chair the Economic Sustainability Committee with the following members. One, the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning. The Honourable Minister of State, Budget and National Planning. The Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment. The Honourable Minister of Labor and Employment. The Honourable Minister of State, Petroleum Resources. The Governor of the Central Bank. The Group Managing Director of the NNPC. And the Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office as Secretary. In view of the envisaged scope of the engagement, we later co-opted the following ministers with your permission. The Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. The Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development. The Honourable Minister of Works and Housing. The Honourable Minister of Aviation. The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy. And the Honourable Minister of Education. So the Honourable Minister of Health, the Honourable Minister of Interior and the Honourable Minister of Science and Technology. And the Honourable Minister of Transportation. Our terms of reference were, as follows, one, to develop a clear economic sustainability plan in response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, two, to propose monetary policy measures in support of the plan, three, to provide a fiscal monetary stimulus package including support to private businesses with emphasis on strategic sectors most affected by the pandemic and vulnerable segments of the population, four, to identify fiscal measures for enhancing distributable oil and gas revenue, increasing non-oil revenues and reducing non-essential spending towards securing sufficient resources to fund the plan, five, to articulate specific measures to support the states and the FCT, six, to propose a clear cut strategy to keep existing jobs and create opportunities for new ones, and seven, to identify measures that may require legislative support to deliver the plan. We constituted, we consulted and received memoranda from, one, members of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council, two, the 36 state governments, and three, the leadership of the National Assembly. We also took into account existing government policies and strategies, including the following, the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, the report of the Economic Crisis Committee, headed by the Honorable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, the Finance Act 2019, the Central Bank of Nigeria's proposals, and the National Economic Council report on the COVID-19 crisis. Mr. President, the Economic Sustainability Committee was motivated by your directive to come up with a plan that would provide soccer to Nigerians, taking into account the dangers posed to the economy by the global economics lowdown, which also resulted in a drastic fall in crude oil production and prices with serious implications for government revenues and foreign exchange earnings. In addition, the inevitable mandatory lockdowns and social distancing measures, putting place to curb the spread of COVID-19, also had severe negative impact on farms and factories, as well as on trade, transport and tourism all over the world. Several projections, including those done by the National Bureau of Statistics on behalf of the Economic Sustainability Committee, showed one, a severe downturn in our oil earnings as a result of which, even with oil price at $30 a barrel, we will still have a short fall of about $185 billion every month in the amount available for allocation to the three tiers of government, two, that unemployment may rise to about 33.6%, or about 39.4 million people at the end of 2020, if we fail to take prompt preemptive measures. Three, that millions more may fall into extreme poverty before the pandemic ends. And four, that GDP may fall to between minus 4.4% and minus 8.9%, depending on the length of the lockdown period and the strength of our economic response. So we decided on a strategy hinged on Mr. President's mantra to quote, produce what we eat and consume what we produce. In other words, to create millions of new jobs. We need to focus on encouraging local production, local services, local innovation, and emphasize the use of local materials. Nigeria and Nigerians can produce our food, build our houses, construct our roads using local materials in almost all cases. If we must import, it must be to support local production. We have therefore recommended that we must carry out mass programs that create jobs and utilize local materials. Work will include a mass agricultural program which is expected to bring between 20,000 and 100,000 hectares of new farmland under cultivation in every state of the federation and create millions of direct and indirect job opportunities. To extensive public works and road construction programs focusing on both major and rural programs and using locally available materials like limestones, cement, and granite and of course, stone. Three must a mass housing program to deliver up to 300,000 homes annually, engaging young professionals and artisans who form themselves into smaller medium scale businesses within the construction industry using indigenous labor and materials for the installation of solar home systems targeting about five million households with the collaboration of the private sector, serving about 25 million individual Nigerians who are currently not connected to the national grid. We have also recommended support for local production and manufacturing of all that is possible including technology applications, software, shoes, garments, steel fabrication, ceramics, and furniture with a required capital and essential machinery. We've also recommended the provision of ample support for the informal sector through low interest loans and by easing procedures for registration, for licensing, for obtaining permits, etc. By these means urban and informal business people like mechanics, tailors, artisans and petty traders will be encouraged to improve and develop their services. Support for MSMEs, especially in assisting to restructure their loans with banks. Amongst others this will assist businesses in the pharmaceutical, aviation, hotels and hospitality industry, private schools, road transportation, technology companies and the creative industry among others. All the facilitation of broadband connectivity across the country and the creation of a wide variety of technology and ICT jobs. Find the expansion of the social investment program through an increase in the number of cash transfer beneficiaries, an increase in the number of MPR volunteers and sundry traders enjoying small and micro loans through the market money and trader money schemes. The pre-existing conditional cash transfers will also be extended, our recommendation is it should also be extended to cover a large number of the extremely poor already Mr. President has asked that one million extra recipients be added to the 2.6 million currently on the register. The key to the success of this plan is undoubtedly implementation, making sure that we execute the plan faithfully and working in collaboration with each other. We therefore recommended that each minister should be responsible for supervising the implementation of plans situated in their respective ministries. Ministers will also be responsible for ensuring synergy between all relevant stakeholders across the public and private sectors. The economic sustainability committee which is interministerial in nature should only then remain to oversee the plan implementation and ensure interministerial coordination and report regularly to the president. While expenditure is to be monitored through the national M&E framework of the budget office of the federation. In conclusion I wish to thank you Mr. President for the confidence reposed in members of the economic sustainability committee by giving us this very critical national assignment. We are confident that if the proposals are taken as a whole and implemented consensuously, Nigeria will avert the worst of the impending economic headwinds and convert this crisis to a victory for the Nigerian economy and the Nigerian people. So President may I now on behalf of the members of the economic sustainability committee present the plan entitled bouncing back the Nigerian economy.