Abuja – Dr Ousmane Dore, the Country Director, African Development Bank (AfDB), says Nigeria is rapidly urbanising and fast-growing but with increasing unemployment and income inequality due to poor urban planning.
The latest edition of the bank’s newsletter issued on Wednesday in Abuja quoted Dore as saying this at the launch of 15th edition of African Economic Outlook in Lusaka, Zambia.
Dore said that the outlook gazed closely at Africa’s distinctive pathways toward urbanisation and how this was increasingly shifting economic resources toward more productive activities.
“Nigeria has been rapidly urbanising, and the fast-growing cities such as Lagos and Kano face increasing unemployment and income inequality.
“This is because of poor urban planning and weak links between transformation and urbanisation,’’ Dore said.
Dore said that the outlook summary of the 15th edition highlighted that Nigeria had had sluggish economic growth since the end of 2015 with the rate dropping to an estimated 3.0 per cent in December 2015.
Dore said that the outlook summarised that the estimated percentage had led the authorities to adopt an expansionary 2016 budget that aimed to stimulate economy, security, fighting corruption, and improving social welfare of Nigerians.
He said that improved economy and social welfare of Nigerians was at the heart of the development policy of the new administration inaugurated on May 29, 2015. (NAN)