FG Explains Failure of Previous National Plans

The federal government has traced the failure of previous
national economic plans partly to inadequate cooperation and buy-in
by sub-national governments.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs.
Zainab Ahmed, who stated this, noted that the overall scorecard of
previous national economic plans indicated that they performanced
below expectation.

In an address at the 19th National Council on Development
Planning (NCDP) meeting in Abuja, the minister said that lack of
cooperation and buy-in by the states was based on the notion that
the plans were more of the federal government’s than
sub-national.

According to her, this notion had denied previous plans of the
needed cooperation from state governments, which led to little
success recorded so far.

On the performance of previous plans, she said: “You would agree
with me that previous Plans witnessed varying degree of successes.
For instance, the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP)
2017-2020, which was crafted at the wake of the global economic
meltdown of 2016, was able to pull the Nigerian economy out of
recession.

Commenting on the meeting’s themed, “National Development
Planning in Nigeria: Issues and Challenges”, Ahmed said it was
quite germane as it stimulates robust discussions on a new
adoptable approach towards the formulation of effective national
plans that will serve as successor to the NV20:2020 and the ERGP
2017-2020 which ended in December, 2020.

At the two-day hybrid meeting, participants deliberated on ways
of charting a new economic pathway that will sustain national
development.

She said the meeting was an annual event organised along with
the Joint Planning Board (JPB) meeting by the Budget and Planning
arm of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National
Planning in conjunction with state governments for policy
formulation and implementation of contemporary economic issues with
a view to proposing policy options geared towards enhancing the
economic management process of the nation

The minister noted that the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 and its
myriad consequences have impacted so much on the economy and norms
that it would take decades for the world to recover.

Ahmed said the economy plunged into another wave of recession in
2020 which was, however, short-lived because of proactive measures
put in place by the current administration, adding that this
experience called for an urgent strategy to develop a more
resilient and sustainable economy-model that could stand the test
of time.

The minister said: “Achieving this would require maximum
cooperation and collaboration at all levels of government. The
ongoing Medium Term National Development Plans (MTNDP) 2021-2025
and Nigeria Agenda 2050 were designed to address these
concerns.

“The meeting is aimed at ratifying key resolutions reached in
the last two days and to formulate critical actionable strategies
towards repositioning the Nigeria economy into a prosperous and
all-inclusive one. I, therefore, implore your cooperation as true
citizens in the development of our great country, towards the
realisation of the objectives of this meeting.”

In his opening address at the meeting, the Minister of State,
Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba
implored commissioners of budget and economic planning, states’
permanent secretaries and others to continue to support and
replicate the economic policies of the federal government,
especially the ongoing MTNDP 2021-2025 and Nigeria Agenda 2050, in
their respective States.

He said: “This is in order to consolidate and sustain the
success achieved so far. Nigeria has come to a point of ‘no going
back’ in her economic transformation policy. Hence, there is need
to chart a positive way forward in boosting its economy to address
the issues of unemployment, insecurity, youth restiveness etc.”

Meanwhile, the federal government has stated that it is
prioritising sustainable and inclusive development aseriously well
as ensuring specific interventions aimed at entrenching peace and
security across the country.

In her remarks at the recently held project board meeting for
Regional Stabilisation Facility-Nigeria (RSF), the Minister of
Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed said: “We
remain firmly committed to the stabilisation work in the North
East, and to working closely with all stakeholders to restore peace
and prosperity to the affected states.

On government-led multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral approach
to stabilising the Lake Chad region, she stated that the
government’s experience with the RSF demonstrates the importance of
employing a government-led multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral
approach to stabilising the Lake Chad region.

A statement issued by her Special Adviser, Media and
Communications, Yunusa Tanko Abdullahi, she added that this was
underscored by the substantive progress made in implementing the
RSF Joint Action Plan (JAP) in 2020, despite the challenges posed
by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The federal government has traced the failure of previous
national economic plans partly to inadequate cooperation and buy-in
by sub-national governments.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs.
Zainab Ahmed, who stated this, noted that the overall scorecard of
previous national economic plans indicated that they performanced
below expectation.

In an address at the 19th National Council on Development
Planning (NCDP) meeting in Abuja, the minister said that lack of
cooperation and buy-in by the states was based on the notion that
the plans were more of the federal government’s than
sub-national.

According to her, this notion had denied previous plans of the
needed cooperation from state governments, which led to little
success recorded so far.

On the performance of previous plans, she said: “You would agree
with me that previous Plans witnessed varying degree of successes.
For instance, the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP)
2017-2020, which was crafted at the wake of the global economic
meltdown of 2016, was able to pull the Nigerian economy out of
recession.

Commenting on the meeting’s themed, “National Development
Planning in Nigeria: Issues and Challenges”, Ahmed said it was
quite germane as it stimulates robust discussions on a new
adoptable approach towards the formulation of effective national
plans that will serve as successor to the NV20:2020 and the ERGP
2017-2020 which ended in December, 2020.

At the two-day hybrid meeting, participants deliberated on ways
of charting a new economic pathway that will sustain national
development.

She said the meeting was an annual event organised along with
the Joint Planning Board (JPB) meeting by the Budget and Planning
arm of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National
Planning in conjunction with state governments for policy
formulation and implementation of contemporary economic issues with
a view to proposing policy options geared towards enhancing the
economic management process of the nation

The minister noted that the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 and its
myriad consequences have impacted so much on the economy and norms
that it would take decades for the world to recover.

Ahmed said the economy plunged into another wave of recession in
2020 which was, however, short-lived because of proactive measures
put in place by the current administration, adding that this
experience called for an urgent strategy to develop a more
resilient and sustainable economy-model that could stand the test
of time.

The minister said: “Achieving this would require maximum
cooperation and collaboration at all levels of government. The
ongoing Medium Term National Development Plans (MTNDP) 2021-2025
and Nigeria Agenda 2050 were designed to address these
concerns.

“The meeting is aimed at ratifying key resolutions reached in
the last two days and to formulate critical actionable strategies
towards repositioning the Nigeria economy into a prosperous and
all-inclusive one. I, therefore, implore your cooperation as true
citizens in the development of our great country, towards the
realisation of the objectives of this meeting.”

In his opening address at the meeting, the Minister of State,
Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba
implored commissioners of budget and economic planning, states’
permanent secretaries and others to continue to support and
replicate the economic policies of the federal government,
especially the ongoing MTNDP 2021-2025 and Nigeria Agenda 2050, in
their respective States.

He said: “This is in order to consolidate and sustain the
success achieved so far. Nigeria has come to a point of ‘no going
back’ in her economic transformation policy. Hence, there is need
to chart a positive way forward in boosting its economy to address
the issues of unemployment, insecurity, youth restiveness etc.”

Meanwhile, the federal government has stated that it is
prioritising sustainable and inclusive development aseriously well
as ensuring specific interventions aimed at entrenching peace and
security across the country.

In her remarks at the recently held project board meeting for
Regional Stabilisation Facility-Nigeria (RSF), the Minister of
Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed said: “We
remain firmly committed to the stabilisation work in the North
East, and to working closely with all stakeholders to restore peace
and prosperity to the affected states.

On government-led multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral approach
to stabilising the Lake Chad region, she stated that the
government’s experience with the RSF demonstrates the importance of
employing a government-led multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral
approach to stabilising the Lake Chad region.

A statement issued by her Special Adviser, Media and
Communications, Yunusa Tanko Abdullahi, she added that this was
underscored by the substantive progress made in implementing the
RSF Joint Action Plan (JAP) in 2020, despite the challenges posed
by the COVID-19 pandemic.