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Nigeria Needs N348.1trn Investments To Achieve 5-Year Dev Plan -Buhari
The Nigerian Government requires an investment size of N348.1trillion to achieve the targets set out in the National Development Plan 2021-2025, President MuhammaduBuharihas said in Abuja.
The president spoke at the formal launch and public presentation of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2025, the successor to the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), 2017- 2020, which lapsed in December, 2020.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, made this known in a statement,last Wednesday, and made available to newsmenin Abuja.
Buhari explained that the overall target of the plan is to achieve a broad-based real GDP growth rate of 5per cent on average during the plan period; generate 21million full-time jobs; and through an inclusive growth, lift 35million people out of poverty.
He added that this would set the stage for achieving the government’s target of lifting 100million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years, under the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS).
To achieve these, the president noted that out of the investment size of N348.1trillion, the government is expected to provide N49.7trillion or 14.3percent, while the private sector would provide the balance of N298.3trillion or 85.7percent.
‘‘This implies that successful implementation of the plan will require a strong partnership between the public and private sectors.
‘‘In this regard, a Development Plan Implementation Unit headed by the Vice President with the Honourable Minister of State, Budget and National Planning as the Vice-Chair will be established in the Budget and National Planning arm of the Ministry to ensure overall coordination with the Ministries, Departments and Agencies; sub-national governments; Private sector operators and Civil Society Organisations,’’ he said.
The president recounted that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had on November 10, 2021, approved the Draft National Development Plan, 2021-2025, which is the first of the envisaged Medium Term development Plans to implement the Nigeria Agenda 2050.
‘‘The Plan, as a matter of deliberate efforts, is comprehensive and has the capacity not only to accelerate and sustain national development but also the attainment of various Regional and Global Agendas, including the AU Agenda 2063, ECOWAS Agenda 2050 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, 2030.
‘‘I have no doubt in my mind that with effective and sustained implementation, Nigeria will achieve quantum leap in unlocking its potentials in all sectors of the economy for a sustainable and inclusive national development,’’ the president said at the presentation before the commencement of the weekly FEC meeting.
Commending the Ministers of Finance, Budget and National Planning, the leaderships of the National Steering Committee, the Central Working Group and the Technical Working Groups for the sacrifice and efforts in achieving this milestone, Buhari noted that the implementation of the ERGP not only helped the country to exit the 2016 economic recession but sustained a modest growth until the advent of the recent global economic challenges occasioned by the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
‘‘The sustained implementation of the ERGP ensured execution of our social investment programmes and improvement in infrastructure across the country.
‘‘In order to ensure a seamless transition and continue the implementation of the policies, programmes and projects of government, it became necessary to prepare a successor Plan to the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.
‘‘I on September 9, 2020, therefore, inaugurated the National Steering Committee (NSC), co-chaired by the respected Mr.AtedoPeterside and the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr. (Mrs) Zainab Ahmed.
‘‘Apart from the NSC the institutional arrangement for the preparation of the plan also included; the Central Working Group (CWG), the Technical Working Groups (TWGs) and a strong Secretariat that supported the process.
‘‘The process adopted for the preparation of the plan was not only participatory and consultative but also inclusive; involving all segments of the society such as; key political parties; government agencies; labour unions; youth organisations; civil society organisations; women society; farmers’ association; ALGON; traditional and religious leaders and representatives of people with special needs; and development partners,’’ he said.
According to the president, the broad objectives of the plan include the establishing a strong foundation for a concentric diversified economy with robust MSME growth and a more resilient business environment as well as investing in critical, physical, financial digital and innovation infrastructure.
The president added that the plan is also expected to build a solid framework to strengthen security and ensure good governance while also enabling a vibrant, educated and healthy population.
‘‘The macroeconomic framework recognizes that sectors have differing potentials for growth and identified and leveraged on those sectors with the highest potentials for stimulating growth,’’ he explained.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
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RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.