By Joyce Remi- Babayeju
Vice-President of the nation, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has called on the three tiers of government to pull collective efforts towards creating a better economic environment where decent jobs would be available fir Nigerian youths.
According to press release signed by Mrs Imaobong Umoh on behalf of the Director, Information of the ministry, Osinbajo made this call while declaring open the 20th Joint Planning Board meeting (JPB)/National Council on National Planning (NCNP), recently in Maiduguri, Borno State.
He said: “This August event has become a veritable pivot for charting the course for the economic well-being of our dear Nation as it reflects the common commitment of the Federal and State Governments to work together in planning the economic future of our Nation and its people.”
Osinbajo said the theme of the three-day meeting: “Managing the Nigeria Economy for Sustainable Development in a Challenging Environment”, was apt and timely as the meeting would offer participants an opportunity to discuss how to steer the ships of governance and meet the needs and aspirations of the citizenry amid turbulent socio-economic climate.
The Vice President expounded on Federal government’s effort towards curbing the effects of Covid-19 pandemic on the nation’s economy, disclosed that the government’s Presidential orders is targeted at improvements in policy environment for small businesses and expanded access to market-driven skills acquisition in partnership with the organized private sector for employment opportunities, among other measures.
In his keynote address, the Borno State Governor, Prof. Babangida Umara Zulum, stated that Borno has being the worst hit state in the 13 years of insurgency compounded by the Corona virus pandemic and the attendant global economic recession.
According to him, the Maiduguri meeting is the true picture of what President Muhammadu Buhari was able to achieve in the fight against terrorism.
He said, “There are indications that the military, with its new leadership and equipment, is consolidating on its previous gains with many successes over the Boko Haram insurgents in the North East and the bandits in the North Central Nigeria.”
“However, we need more Presidential Executive Orders to turn around the fortunes of the State in view of emerging challenges with a view to managing and sustaining economic development in the face of our recovery programme after 13 years of insurgency.”
Meanwhile at a breakfast meeting between the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, Honourable Commissioners and Permanent Secretaries of Budget and Planning, held to deliberate on issues of mutual interest, the Minister disclosed that the internet had made information more accessible, and as such, “members should take advantage of such opportunities to articulate solutions to societal problems.”
He further enjoined participants to think out of the box to proffer solutions to societal problems by adopting daily target setting and prioritizing their daily tasks for ease of performance assessment also enjoined them on the importance of generating credible data for effective planning.
Inadequate data make it difficult to establish how much the nation is committing to different sectors of the economy,” he explained.
Speaking on budgeting, Agba called on Commissioners of Budget and Planning to make their annual budgets accessible to the Budget Office of the Federation to make it possible for budgetary provisions to each sector to be aggregated in order to obtain accurate data of how much the Federation was committing to the respective sectors.
Also, he reiterated the need to address food insecurity through provision of infrastructures to address post-harvest losses; provision of tarred rural access roads; provision of off-grid alternative power in rural areas; as well as other basic infrastructures that would discourage rural-urban migration.
