By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has disclosed that Nigeria will need an economic model that can withstand several shocks.
Speaking at the 19th National Council on Development Planning (NCDP) held last week at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Conference Centre and Suites in Abuja, she stated that the national economic plans performed below expectations as a result of lack of cooperation.
But to change the tide, she submitted that the various governments at all levels must work together to come up with policies that would address the different issues that could attempt to weaken the economy.
“[There is a need] for an urgent strategy to develop a more resilient and sustainable economic model that could stand the test of time. Achieving this would require maximum cooperation and collaboration at all levels of government,” the Minister said.
Mrs Ahmed said since the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari came into power, there have been deliberate efforts to achieve this goal.
“The ongoing Medium-Term National Development Plans (MTNDP) 2021-2025 and Nigeria Agenda 2050 were designed to address these concerns,” she assured.
According to her, “You would agree with me that previous plans witnessed a varying degree of successes. For instance, the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017-2020, which was crafted in the wake of the global economic meltdown of 2016, was able to pull Nigeria economy out of recession.”
She expressed confidence that the NCDP themed National Development Planning in Nigeria: Issues and Challenges would stimulate robust discussions on a new adaptable approach towards the formulation of effective national plans that will serve as a successor to the NV20: 2020 and the ERGP 2017-2020 which ended in December 2020.
“This meeting is an annual event is organised along with the Joint Planning Board (JPB) meeting by the Budget and Planning arm of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning in conjunction with state governments for policy formulation and implementation of contemporary economic issues with a view to proposing policy options geared towards enhancing the economic management process of the nation.
“The outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 and its myriad consequences have impacted so much on the economy and norms that it would take decades for the world to recover.
“The economy plunged into another wave of recession in 2020 which was, however, short-lived by proactive measures put in place by the current administration.
“The meeting is aimed at ratifying key resolutions reached in the last two days and to formulate critical actionable strategies towards repositioning the Nigeria economy into a prosperous and all-inclusive one.
“I, therefore, implore your cooperation as true citizens in the development of our great country, towards the realisation of the objectives of this meeting,” she said.
At the two-day hybrid meeting, participants deliberated on ways of charting a new economic pathway that will sustain national development.
Dipo Olowookere 
Adedapo Adesanya