By Kadiri Abdulrahman
Abuja, March 30, 2026 (NAN) The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) has advised the Federal Government to use benefits from the current surge in global crude price to build a more resilient economy.
The Chairman of IMPI, Dr Omoniyi Akinsiju, gave the advice in a policy statement on Monday in Abuja.
Akinsiju outlined a number of initiatives the President Bola Tinubu administration had been institutionalising in the last three years.
He said that the IMPI position was at variance with the position of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) which prefered the expected windfall to be used for wage increase.
The chairman said wage increase and other measures canvassed by the NLC would only benefit a small section of Nigerians.
“Our follow-up study of the Federal Government’s microeconomic stimulus indicates a range of programmes and policies.
“These were deployed to transform Nigeria from the economic docility of years of fuel subsidy dependency and import consumerism to enabling citizens to be productive through various levels of empowerment.
“ One of such empowerments was the flag-off of the 500 million dollars World Bank-funded Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria (SPIN) Project.
“The project aims to accelerate food production and increase power generation as part of a strategic intervention to strengthen dam safety and water resources management for improved irrigation and hydropower generation,” he said.
According to him, directly connected to this is the Federal Government’s approval of a N250 billion facility for the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) to support smallholder farmers across Nigeria.
“It offers them access to credit at a single-digit interest rate, and in the same token, releasing 2.15 million bags of fertiliser to support farmers to boost food production across the country.
“The move aims to lower production costs, boost yields, and strengthen Nigeria’s food supply chain. The intervention will help reduce farmers’ production costs,” he said.
Akinsiju also provided some insights into targeted initiatives of the Tinubu administration aimed at boosting food production and stemming the tide of poverty at the grassroots.
“Meanwhile, in another intervention targeted at boosting food production and reducing poverty, the Federal Government has launched an interest-free, collateral-free loan scheme.
“The scheme targets at least 22,000 farmers across the 774 local government areas of the country.
“The initiative, under the FarmerMoni Dry and Wet Season Programme, is being implemented by the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) as part of the Renewed Hope Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP 3.0).”
He said that to ensure increased food production, the Federal Government was currently implementing the GROW Fund.
He said that the fund was to provide affordable financing for over 6,000 young entrepreneurs trained under the Inspire, Create, Start and Scale programme.
“It is a move aimed at tackling the persistent funding gap confronting micro, small and medium enterprises in Nigeria.
“In addition, agricultural mechanisation has taken a pride of place.
“The Federal Government is currently deploying 2000-plus tractors and 10,000-plus implements through a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement, focusing on a 40 per cent subsidised lease-to-own model for smallholder farmers,” he said.
The IMPI boss said to support the sub-nationals’ delivery on infrastructure, the Federal Government had disbursed more than N2.45 trillion to federating states.
According to him, the amount was disbursed between March 2024 and August 2025, spanning over 17 months.
He said that it was aimed at bolstering infrastructure development and strengthening subnational security operations, as part of ongoing efforts to address widespread insecurity and bridge critical infrastructure gaps across the country.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Isaac Aregbesola
