President
Muhammadu Buhari has launched the Nigeria Economic Recovery and Growth Plan,
ERGP, which seeks to restore the nation’s economic status following the high
rate of inflation and recession.
The launch
was undertaken shortly before the commencement of the meeting of Federal
Executive Council, FEC, inside the Council Chamber, Aso Rock, Abuja on
Wednesday.
The launch
was attended by all cabinet members as well as top government functionaries
including the national chairman of the governing All Progressives Congress,
APC, John Odigie-Oyegun; Senate President Bukola Saraki; Speaker of the House
of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; and chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum,
NGF, and Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari.
Mr. Buhari
said his administration inherited numerous challenges at inception. He also
said his campaign was based on the difficult situation that Nigeria was in and
the need for enduring positive change.
The
president said his administration is committed to delivering on the three key
areas that he promised during the campaigns; which are to tackle corruption,
insecurity and ensure economic growth.
“Security in
the North East and other parts of Nigeria today is better than when we came in.
Law enforcement agencies are prosecuting many cases of corruption and I assure
all Nigerians that we are approaching our economic challenges in the same
manner we are fighting insecurity and corruption,” he said.
The
president said the ERGP focusses on agriculture with a view to ensuring
adequate food security as well as energy, industrialisation and social
investment.
He said the
ERGP is an ambitious plan that seeks to achieve a 7 per cent economic growth by
the year 2020. He said the aim is not just to remove the country out of
recession, but to put it on the path of strength and growth, away from being an
import dependent nation.
“We must
produce what we need,” he said.
Mr. Buhari
also said the ERGP clearly sets out what his government is committed to doing
by creating an environment for businesses to thrive.
He called on
state governors to draw inspiration from the plan and articulate their own
plans that will lead them to real growth.
Speaking
earlier, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, said Mr. Buhari
has right from his campaigns shown commitment to changing Nigeria in a
fundamental way. He said the ERGP is the president’s fulfilment of his promise
to reinvigorate the Nigerian economy.
The minister
said while the ERGP is being launched on Wednesday, the plan has put together
in “one place, for easy access, all the sectoral plans that the government has
been working on, from inception, including the strategic implementation plan
for the 2016 budget.”
He said many
of the initiatives in the plan are contained in the 2017 budget proposals which
were submitted to the national assembly last December.
“The broad
objectives of the ERGP are to restore growth, invest in our people and build a
globally competitive economy,” he said.
The minister
also said Mr. Buhari has already approved the establishment of a unit in the
presidency that will monitor the implementation of the plan.
In their
goodwill messages, Messrs. Saraki and Dogara pledged the cooperation of the
National Assembly to the implementation of the plan. The lawmakers, however,
called on the president to ensure the implementation of the plan.
On his part,
Mr. Yari said the launch of the ERGP is a significant milestone in the economic
management of the country which provides a basis for inclusive growth.
He said all
the 36 governors will take ownership of the plan and ensure its implementation
as it concerns other levels of government.
The Zamfara
governor also appreciated the level of cooperation between states and the
federal government, which, he said, has increased significantly.
(Premium
Times)
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