Nigeria’s revenue-to-Gross Domestic Product ratio, which fell to between five and six per cent last year, is the lowest in the world, the World Bank said on Monday.
The Country Director for Nigeria, World Bank, Dr Shubham Chaudhuri, said this during a panel session at a virtual public sector seminar with the theme ‘Nigeria in challenging times: imperatives for a cohesive national development agenda’ organised by the Lagos Business School.
Chaudhuri, who stressed the need for private investment for the country to realise its potential, said the private sector in the country ‘is struggling to breathe’.
He noted the aspiration of President Muhammadu Buhari to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty by the end of the decade.
According to Chaudhuri, to invest in people entails basic services, basic education, primary healthcare and nutrition, among others.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, who spoke at the event, described the country’s revenue situation as very weak.
