Agba Presents Scorecard, Blames Governors for Rising Poverty

*Says Buhari added 20% to infrastructure relative to what he inherited from previous government

*Declares country needs to spend N150 billion for 10 years to close $2.3 trillion gap 

James Emejo in Abuja

The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, has blamed state governors for the poverty situation in their respective states and the country in general.

Speaking at the end-of-tenure press briefing on the achievements of the ministry, he accused the states of neglecting the rural areas and focusing development on state capitals alone.
He said the development has further encouraged higher rural-urban drift, putting pressure on cities’ infrastructure, and enabled jobless migrants to constitute security threats in urban centers.

The outgoing minister said President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has improved the state of infrastructure in the country by 20 per cent compared to what he met on the ground upon assumption of office in 2015.
He also said the country needs $2.3 trillion to bridge existing infrastructural gaps adding that the government is required to spend N150 billion annually over 10 years to fix infrastructure.

Agaba however pointed out that since August 21, 2019, when he was sworn in as minister, the ministry under his watch has recorded numerous achievements including the development and implementation of critical growth and development blueprint for the country.

Among other things, he said the government’s commitment to the principles of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) had led to an improved budgetary process, improved procurement process as well as boosted the country’s anti-corruption fight through the introduction of transparency in company ownership especially the establishment of Beneficial Ownership Register.
He said the ministry also developed a framework for the National Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) policy which Buhari recently launched at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

He said, “Overall, we had inspected and inaugurated federal government Projects in the country. We developed a citizen-based web app-The Eyemark- to enable Nigerians in the country and in the Diaspora to track the execution of capital projects and report progress to the government.
“We saw to the implementation of Grid 3 Technology, which deploys Geospatial data for evidence-based decision making and promotion of effective coordination.”

The minister said under his supervision, the ministry accomplished the development, approval, and launch of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2025 (2021); and the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021 – 2025, which is a medium-term plan among other development guides- particularly the recent launch of Nigeria Agenda 2050, to give direction for government policies over a 30- year period.
Agba, while commending Buhari for the privilege to serve the nation, said,” I am delighted to say that I have remained committed to putting service first and working tirelessly towards achieving our development.”