The federal government underscored the importance of collaboration among all tiers of government to rein in inflation, create employment and attain sustainable economic development.
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, disclosed this at the closing session of 22nd edition of the National Council on Development Planning (NCDP) yesterday in Osogbo, Osun State.
He tasked state governors on the need to collaborate with federal government to tackle unemployment and inflation with the increased revenue to the states.
He emphasised the importance of planning to economic prosperity and called for constitutional provision for a joint planning board between the state and local governments.
Bagudu noted that the annual event provides opportunities for commissioners and other officials across the 36 states who are responsible for economic planning to meet, brainstorm and interrogate for inclusive growth.
The 2023 theme, he said, was to restore and stabilize macro economy for sustainable economic growth.
It also aligned with the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
“We seek more collaboration with states governor because they are equal partners in our polity and ensure we do more together,” Bagudu said.
According to him, examples from countries that have achieved development showed that planning played a crucial role in their economic take-off.
“Ethiopia, for instance, demonstrated that careful planning can deliver prosperity, with a growth rate of about 80 per cent for over a decade. Similarly, India, Korea, and other Asian countries have achieved success through planning.
“Given that Nigeria is a federation with provisions requiring federal, state, and local governments to lead through planning and the constitutional provision for a joint planning board between the state and local governments,” Bagudu said.
Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke said the theme of the 22nd edition of the event was timely, noting that as the country navigates through the evolving economic landscape, it is crucial that all stakeholders come together to chart a course that ensures not only growth but sustainability and inclusivity for all Nigerians.
Adeleke said the gathering showed a reflection of diverse collective dedication to finding solution to the economic challenges facing the country.
He said that Osun would continue to play its path toward ensuring economic prosperity through robust economic policies.
The governor urged participants to come up with immediate measures to help mitigate the recent ecomomic challenges confronting the nation.
Mr Adebiyi Adewale, the Comptroller- General of Customs, said the gathering would provide meaningful dialogue, insight and also foster partnership that would drive the country’s economy to greater heights.
He said resolutions and recommendations from the meeting would help restore Nigeria on the part of sustainable economic growth and development.
The communique issued at the event of the meeting urged all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to examine their local peculiarities and fashion sustainable pathway through effective policies.
Also, national and sub-national governments were encouraged to invest heavily in human capital development to create high skilled manpower needed for rapid growth and development among others.
Former Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, said that Nigeria Agenda 2050 had already identified and clarified where to be in 30 years’ time and how to get there.
He said the Nigeria Agenda 2050 aimed to fully engage all resources, reduce poverty, and achieve social and economic stability.
Agba said that there was an urgent need to resubmit and ensure the passage of “The Development Planning and Project Continuity Bill,” which had been in the National Assembly undergoing legislative process for enactment.
He stressed that this would improve plan implementation majorly affected by political and policy changes.
He listed other steps to take to include strengthening the link between the plan and annual budget and improving inter-sectoral collaboration.
He also called for coordinated and harmonised efforts with states and creating the enabling environment for increased private sector investment.
Agba, who supervised the development of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2025 and Nigeria Agenda 2050 as minister of state for budget and national planning, said the path to that goal would pass through six Medium Term NDP, namely NDP (2021-2025) (already developed and published) and subsequent national development plans covering (2026-2030), (2031-2035), (2036-2040), (2041-2045), and (2046-2050).
“The first of the medium-term plans, named NDP 2021-2025, is to make Nigeria a country that has unlocked its potential in all sectors of the economy for a sustainable, holistic, and inclusive development.
“Specifically, the plan aims to generate 21 million full-time jobs and lift 35 million people out of poverty by 2025; thus, setting the stage for achieving the government’s commitment of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years,” Agba said.
He said that having set the future agenda through the above plans, the next step was to ensure effective implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and achieving the planned result.
“To achieve these, we need to address binding domestic growth constraints through creating the needed enabling environment for sustainable economic growth and development to allow the private sector to drive the economy.
“The strategy is contained in Volume III, which is the legal and legislatives imperatives. This volume includes 18 laws that need to be passed or amended and 10 policies for effective implementation of the NDP, 2021-2025,” Agba said.
