FG Committed to Fast-tracking ERGP Implementation

Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, thursday reiterated the federal government’s commitment to the implementation of the various strategies set out in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) to address the five execution priorities of Macroeconomic Stabilisation, Agriculture and Food Security, Transportation, Energy and Industrialisation.

The Special Adviser (Media) to the Minister, James Akpandem, in a statement quoted Udoma as saying that while addressing the Joint Planning Board/National Council on Development Planning (JPB/NCDP) meetings in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the faithful implementation of the plan government will be able to deliver a resilient and more prosperous economy where “we grow what we eat and consume what we make.”

He noted that though the plan was hailed within and outside the country as well as designed to address the fundamental economic challenges of the country, there were some concerns expressed about the implementation given past failures as a country to effectively implement previous plans.

He vowed that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is determined to properly implement the plan, saying the government is encouraged by the achievements recorded so far in the implementation of the ERGP.

Explaining that the ERGP was conceived as a comprehensive medium term plan to address the fundamental problems of the country and place the economy on the path of diversified, sustainable and inclusive growth, he stated that many innovations are being introduced to achieve faster results.

Pointing specifically to the success recorded through the ERGP Focus Labs held early this year in driving the objectives of the plan in some key sectors of the economy, the minister said more of such innovations would help to fast-track implementation of the plan. He was hopeful that the JPB/NCDP meetings would generate new ideas that would help the plan implementation.

The annual JPB/NCDP meeting is a platform for state commissioners, permanent secretaries and other relevant stakeholders to discuss with each other about the Nigerian economy and keep abreast of developments by hearing from development experts on topical economic issues. The theme for this year’s meeting is ‘Accelerating implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan: The role of stakeholders’.

Udoma explained that the theme was chosen to focus attention on what can be done to accelerate the momentum of the current economic revival as there is a need to quicken the growth of the economy. He reminded the participants that the ERGP was a live and dynamic plan.