Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo has stressed the need for the three tiers of government to collaborate to achieve the target of uplifting one hundred million Nigerians out of poverty in the next ten years.
The Vice President stressed this while declaring open the 20th session of the National Council on Development Planning in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.
Professor Yemi Osinbajo who spoke virtually said the Council has the responsibility of mapping out effective pathways that will deal with trend and events that will arise in the nation’s socio-economic and political developments.
Professor Osinbajo charged the Council to formulate deliberate policies that will focus in areas of Covid-19 pandemic, security, climate change, education and fourth industrial revolution and the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Acccording to the Vice President, the federal government is responding to all these critical areas, however it requires the active synergy participation of all actors to achieve the desired result.
“We are aware of the substantial resources in men and materials that are been deployed by states to ensure security, but as planners we are called upon to proffer policy advice in this time and our emphasis must be on effective synergy with the federal government”.
Professor Osinbajo announced that the federal government will soon lunch the five hundred million dollar Nigeria Innovative Programme to be funded by Africa Development Bank to boost innovation, foster growth in the technology sector and create jobs to teeming youths.
He commended Governor Babagana Zulum for executing laudable projects despite insecurity and.lean resources.
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning Dr Zainab Ahmed urged state governments to domesticate policies developed by the federal government to enhance economic performance at the sub national level.
She noted the the county is passing through economic challenges, hence the need to come up with functional approaches to ease the hardship of the people and realise their economic aspirations.
Borno state Governor Professor Babagana Zulum said the state government has introduced policy shift to drive the economy of the state badly affected by Boko Haram insurgency.
He requested the federal government to aggressively embark on infrastructural development in the state and the entire northeast to address the current deficit.
The National Council on Development Planning has as its theme Managing the Nigerian Economy for Sustainable Development in a Challenging Environment.
Dauda Iliya
