The Federal Government (FG) has disclosed that a national development plan is in the works to replace the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).
The disclosure was made by the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba during a meeting with the Japanese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Nigeria, Yutaka Kikuta, in Abuja.
Agba explained that the new national development plan had become necessary following the winding down of the ERGP this year. He announced that it would be broken down into two 5-year medium-term plans, from which the annual budgets would be drawn.
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As stated in the statement obtained from the Director of Information in the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Victoria Agba-Attah, there has been remarkable progress in the Federal Governmnet’s effort to reposition the economy.
“We want to sustain what happened last year in terms of early budget passage, we will continue to work with the National Assembly to repeat the feat. If we fail to repeat it, it means that what happened was just a chance or a fluke but if we do it means that we have a process and a plan that we intend to build on” Agba said.
The Minister added that the return of the budget cycle to January was deliberate and in line with the current administration’ economic recovery plan.
Meanwhile, the Japanese ambassador praised the government on its economic policies and priorities, saying that Nigeria was on the right track to economic recovery and sustainability.
Agba, in turn, appreciated Japan for the assistance and smooth bilateral relationship between the countries over the years.
“We support President Buhari’s second term because we deeply believe in his priority areas and we feel the Federal Government is on the right track,” Kikuta said as Punch reported.
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