 First, let me express the sincere apologies of Mr. President for his inability to join the opening of this summit. So I'm privileged to present his remarks now. I'm pleased to be with you today at the 27th Nigerian Economic Summit. Let me join in welcoming my brother, the former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, his Excellency Haley Merriam Desalin Boshe. Thank you for such an insightful and highly informative speech. The annual summit is a testimony to the joint commitment of government and the private sector, to the rapid and value-driven development of Nigeria. I commend the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group for sustaining this partnership and dialogue over the past 27 years. The outcomes of past summits have contributed positively to an improved policy environment and better governance over the years. This particular gathering is an important one because it gives us a good opportunity to review the developments in the economy since the last summit, which took place at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, to share perspectives on ongoing actions to reposition the economy and to make recommendations for the future so that Nigerians can thrive and prosper. The theme for this year's summit, Securing our Future, the Fierce Urgency of Now, is a compelling one. It stresses the importance of taking time reaction to tackle existing problems while at the same time urging that we take immediate steps to cope with or benefit from domestic and global trends in order to achieve our desired national goals and objectives. To start with, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted negatively on our economic and social life with far-reaching implications for our national development aspirations. The socioeconomic impact of this health shock was of such a magnitude that could have set our progress back by a generation with severe implications for security and national well-being. In the second quarter of 2020, the economy fell by minus 6.1 percent, and the drop of activities in sectors like transportation, hospitality and construction was of the order of magnitude of over minus 40 percent. The shock caused by the pandemic, which is still very much with us, was at a time that Nigeria, as a developing economy, is striving to become a digital economy so that we can leapfrog into the fourth industrial revolution. As if this was not a challenge enough, we're also required, as a good member of the international community, to take steps to mitigate and to adapt to climate change. This is not a simple matter. If we bear in mind that we're reliant on oil and gas for revenues and export earnings, and yet reducing the use of fossil fuels, is the frontline strategy being urged for achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The need for urgent action is even more pressing if we take account of the fact that we are now part of the African continent of free trade area and the agreements, which cause for actions to position the economy to benefit from the opportunity that this regional integration grouping presents, while at the same time protecting our industries and businesses from unfair competition. Nigeria is projected to have the third largest, the third highest population in the world by 2050. Our increasing food, energy, infrastructure, health and education needs would require fast growth. Yet unlike growth in the now developed economies, these needs will have to be met in a sustainable manner, which remains to all intents and purposes an unknown path. Giving these developments and circumstances, it is clear then that we have to act urgently on several fronts if we are to attain our national development objectives and secure the future of our nation. The federal government is responding to the challenges and opportunities of the moment by articulating forward-looking policies and strategies and implementing the coherent clear and consistent set of actions in order to achieve our desired objectives. The economic sustainability plan adopted in response to the economic crisis caused by the pandemic was centered on tackling and reducing the COVID-19 caseload, restoring growth, protecting and creating jobs, rescuing businesses and reducing social vulnerabilities. These were in addition to priority actions that were already been taken under the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan to invest in social and human capital, build power, road and rail infrastructure and improve the business environment. The results are beginning to show, although we must admit that there is still much work to be done, especially in the context of our stated priorities to reduce poverty and unemployment, which call for increased urgency. For instance, gross domestic product grew by 5.01% in the second quarter of this year as compared to a decline of minus 6.1% in the second quarter of 2021. Inflation is also trending down and has fallen over the past few months, from a peak of 18.17% in March this year to 16.63% in September 2021. We were also able, through the MSME Survival Fund, to support up to 1.1 million establishments and individuals, and particularly notable in this regard, was a payroll support scheme wherein government was able to pay salaries of up to 500,000 employees of MSMEs over a three-month period so that they could remain at work. Given the critical foreign exchange needs of the economy, we are also providing support to exporters through the Export Expansion Facility Program, and disbursement is ongoing to beneficiaries of the scheme. Labor-intensive interventions in agriculture, in housing and solar power installations, which are going on now, will also boost domestic demand, especially for local products. As the housing program takes off, we are seeing not only a large number of jobs at the technical and vocational level, but also a boom in building materials produced locally, such as cement, ceramics, doors, windows, locks, tiles, pipes, and paint, amongst other things. The Solar Power Niger project is another project of the Economic Sustainability Plan that will lead to the creation of a large number of jobs. We expect up to 250,000 jobs to be created from this effort to connect up to 5 million households to solar power. This project is particularly important in the context of climate change and in enabling Nigeria to generate renewable electric power against the background of its nationally determined contributions towards net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. We can all bear witness to the giant strides that are being made in infrastructure across the country. Rail services are already up and running from Abuja to Kaduna, Wari to Itawe, and Lagos to Ibadon, being the most notable. Solar investments in major roads and bridges like the Lagos, Ibadon, Abuja, Kano, Second Niger Bridge, and the East-West Road, amongst others. The road infrastructure tax credit scheme holds great potential as the work done on the Apapua Owarunshoki Road has demonstrated. We expect more and more private firms to key into this initiative, which showcases how public-private partnerships can work if we are innovative. Government realizes, of course, that the private sector has always called for a predictable and business-friendly environment in which the rules are clearly stated and the regulation is used to enable businesses to grow rather than stifling their efforts. This is why we place a lot of emphasis on the ease of doing business initiative in which we have made appreciable progress despite odds. Key to this, of course, is the public sector that is responsive, is a public sector that is responsive, efficient, innovative, and forward-looking. This is why the Civil Service Transformation Plan, 2021 to 2025, has been developed to build on the work that started in this area four years ago. Its objectives, in addition to bringing about an ethical change in the public service, include acid-waste training programs, digitalization, better performance management, and improved welfare. For early fruits of this effort, the Office of the Head of Service will be fully digitized by the end of this year. Although essentially a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Economic Sustainability Plan also served as a bridge between the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan and the new medium-term National Development Plan. This new plan is nearing finalization and was developed through an inclusive process that brought together a broad range of actors and stakeholders from across all sectors of society. I understand that the private sector, including the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, made substantial contributions and inputs into the draft plan, which is to be adopted by the government in the next few weeks. And I wish to thank you for all your contributions and the hard work. The broad objectives of the new plan are to diversify the economy, invest in critical infrastructure, build human capital, and improve governance and security. The intention is to achieve broad-based and inclusive GDP growth in order to create 21 million jobs and lift 35 million people out of poverty by 2025. This ambitious but realizable target is consistent with government's vision of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in a decade. And this is crucial. Growth figures are meaningless if they do not translate to good-paying jobs and improve standard of living for our people. The question, of course, I insist, must be answered regarding all our policies is what they mean for creation of wealth and human capacity development. The new plan incorporates the aspects of the national poverty reduction with growth strategy, which was articulated as a guide towards achieving poverty reduction targets. The starting point for the implementation of the strategy is the realization that increased employment is an indispensable tool for reducing poverty. It is for this reason also that labor-intensive sectors like manufacturing are also receiving priority attention. The evidence from other emerging economies is that labor-intensive manufacturers like food products, textiles and garments, leather, wood and furniture products, toys, baggage, etc., are responsible for creating a large number of jobs and can indeed generate significant exports. In Bangladesh, for example, there are estimated four million workers in the garment sector across 5,000 factories and pre-COVID exports reached over 30 billion US dollars. Nigeria can reach this number in short order with focused policies to support the manufacturing sector. The digital economy is another area with great potential and we're working on several initiatives to boost business process outsourcing, which can generate a large number of jobs while also contributing to substantial export earnings. The federal government continues to work well with state governments under the auspices of the National Economic Council, but also through their direct involvement in various initiatives such as those in the Economics of Sneha Basi Plan, articulation of the new National Development Plan, an implementation of the Social Investment Program, the National Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Clinics and of course on the development of human capital. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, let me say in conclusion that the federal government sets great store by the outcomes of this annual National Economic Summit and I personally look forward to receiving the recommendations, which no doubt will contribute to ensuring a sustainable and prosperous future for Nigerians. I'm now pleased to declare open the 27th Nigerian Economic Summit. Thank you very much. May God bless the federal republic of Nigeria.