The Federal government has pledged its commitment to implementing the 71-point National Economic Council (NEC) retreat resolutions aimed at improving socio-economic and political development in the country.
The Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, made the pledge in a statement signed by Abel Nwabuche, Assistant Director in charge of information in the ministry on Wednesday in Abuja.
Ahmed made the pledge at a two-day workshop for Commissioners of Economic Planning and Budget on the Implementation of the 71-Point National Economic Council Retreat Resolutions in Abuja.
Ahmed said that government planned to use Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) mechanism to achieve effective implementation of the resolutions.
He noted that M& E was a critical component of the National Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).
The ERGP is a follow-up to the Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) which is a short-term economic plan to drive the implementation of the 2017 Budget.
On SIP, the government had promised to deliver a more comprehensive economic recovery and growth plan which is expected to be inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari soon.
The minister also disclosed that the existing national M&E framework was currently being revised and strengthened to serve the country better.
She, however, called for close collaboration not just between the Federal Government and the states in terms of economic plans and programmes, but also among states.
Ahmed cited the partnership between Kebbi and Lagos on rice production, which she described as commendable.
In her welcome address, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mrs Fatima Mede, represented by Director, Macro Analysis, Mr Tunde Lawal, reminded the commissioners that the country’s economy “is in their hands’’.
She urged the participants to make good use of the opportunity to ensure that they took good decisions that would bring the economy out of recession
Earlier, the Executive Director of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Mr Lot Shittu stated that the event marked a significant milestone in the economic planning process of the country.
Shittu said that the event provided appropriate platform to review key policy actions undertaken by the states and the Federal Government.
The Executive Director said that the event also discussed the extent to which the states and the Federal Government had used machineries deployed to achieve the resolution of the NEC.
“The Nigeria Governors’ Forum Secretariat is making inroads in a number of important areas, including supporting internally generated revenue reform programmes and fiscal sustainability initiatives as well as public health and agriculture targets.
“It is also influencing interventions to address some of the inherent challenges, especially in public financial management,’’ he said.
Some of the objectives of the workshop included understanding the aims and purpose of the 71 Resolutions; understanding the concept of results-based monitoring and its relevance in the management of government projects.
They also include identifying key activities that will lead to the implementation of the resolutions having learned from their peers.
Others are understanding and preparing a work plan for the implementation of the resolutions, monitor and prepare progress report on the implementation of the activities in the Work Plan. (NAN)
CIA/GY