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| The Vice President Federal Republic of Nigeria, Pro. Yemi Osinbajo |
NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT AT WORK
Nigeria’s
Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajor, says the Federal Government has
developed a Strategic Implementation Plan for the 2016 budget.
Professor
Osinbajo said that the plan articulates six thematic strategies that would
constitute the short-term priority of the government over the next 12 months.
In
his speech at the Nation’s Forum On The Economy held on Thursday in Lagos
State, south-west Nigeria, the Vice President said that the government would
focus on implementing about 33 Priority Actions under the six themes in the
2016 fiscal year.
Priority Actions
One
of the priority actions, according to him, is a plan for lasting changes in the
policy environment, national security and governance. He said it would enable
the government achieve an appropriate foreign exchange regime, increase low
interest lending to the real sector.
“We
need to move toward a single digit interest rate, maintain capital spending in
the budget at a minimum of 30%, complement this with funds from the
infrastructure fund for commercial projects, intensify the implementation of
public financial management reforms to grow revenues and cut costs,” he said.
Professor
Osinbajo, however, stressed that there was no plan to cut staff numbers.
“You
cannot say you are creating jobs and then cutting jobs.
“We
will maintain sustainable debt management strategy, introduce fiscal incentives
to improve collections, intensify the fight against corruption by increasing
transparency, accountability and compliance with law and order and intensify
public procurement reforms in projects to obtain value for money and cut cost.”
He
said that part of the first plan was the governments’ commitment to sustaining
the fight against insurgency, kidnapping and other violent crimes, terrorism,
cyber-crimes, piracy, oil theft and illegal mining activities, intensify the
reorientation of the populace through integrity campaigns.
On
the second thematic strategy, the Vice President said that the government had a
plan to further diversify the economy by fast-tracking industrialization,
Agriculture and Agro-Allied Processing as well as attracting investment into
the Solid Minerals, Tourism and Entertainment Sectors.
The
government is also looking at implementing measures to achieve self-sufficiency
and become net exporters of certain agricultural items – rice in 2018, tomato paste
in 2016 and wheat in 2019.
“We
want to increase local production of maize, soya, poultry and livestock, so as
to achieve self-sufficiency. The deadlines are to be announced in due course.
“We
will revitalise and expand agro-allied processing to intensify local production
and processing of cassava, cocoa, cashew, fruits and sesame seed, utilize 5,000
hectares of irrigable land in the 12 River Basin Development Authorities and
utilise 22 dams for commercial farming activities by prospective investors,”
the Vice President told the gathering.
He
further said that part of the strategy to revitalise the economy were plans to
develop Dadinkowa, Gurara and Oyan dams with 82.5 megawatts capacity
contribution to the national grid, adopt and implement a roadmap to stimulate
investment into the solid minerals sector and plug revenue leakages in the
sector.
Professor
Osinbajo also stated that the government would implement the National
Industrial Revolution Plan, launch the ‘made in Nigeria’ campaign, increase
manufacturing capacity through the operationalisation of industrial parks and
free export processing zones among others.
Part
of the second set of the priority actions are plans to enhance support
facilities to provide increased financial, technical assistance, networking and
information to new investors and existing enterprises, implement the roadmap to
increase private sector investment in culture, tourism, entertainment and
sports and create high-technology innovation hubs to support growth in the digital
and technology sectors.
In
the third category are plans to make critical infrastructure a priority, which
the Vice President was optimistic would increase investment in power, rail and
roads.
The
government will also optimise the 7,000 megawatts installed capacity and ensure
associated infrastructure to fuel, transmit and distribute the capacity, ensure
tariff includes all costs of transmission, generation and gas at new price, and
distribution company costs required to operate, maintain and upgrade
distribution networks and resolve all issues on gas pricing, tariffs and
payment assurance.
In
the short and medium term plan, the government will also conclude roadmap on
gas development, complete the Kaduna-Abuja and Ajaokuta-Warri Rail Lines
scheduled for 2016, commence the construction of the Lagos-Kano standard gauge
Line and finalise negotiations for the Calabar-Lagos Rail Project, undertake
the rehabilitation and construction of 31 major road projects scheduled for
2016 to restore degraded sections of the federal highways network and to
establish connectivity over a distance of 2,193km (through public works
projects, maintenance works, PPP and other interventions) and complete the
rehabilitation of 4 Airports – Abuja, Kano, Lagos and Port Harcourt.
In
the oil and gas sector, the forth thematic strategy, Professor Osinbajo said
that the government would reform the sector by adopting and executing a
Comprehensive National Oil and Gas Master-Plan (‘NOGM’), as the roadmap for the
petroleum industry’s development, diversification, privatisation and
governance.
He
said: “We will adopt and execute a roadmap of gas development and flare
elimination, set a deadline to be self-sufficient in refined petroleum products
and become a net exporter, work with the national assembly on the passage of a
revised Petroleum Industry Bill (‘PIB’) or bills to give effect to the NOGM and
to resolve fiscal and governance issues of the Sector, eliminate gas flaring
and conclude negotiations to deal with all funding gap issues in the Upstream
Sector”.
“We
Shall Remain Engaged”
Another
strategy in the plan is focused on the need to ease the challenges faced by
persons interested in establishing a business in Nigeria.
He
said that the government planned to move 20 places up in the global Ease of
Doing Business rankings, by implementing fast track measures for business
approvals and acquisition of land titles.
Nigeria
is currently ranked 169 out of 189 countries by the World Bank – 2015 Survey.
The
Vice President told the gathering that the government would also fast-track
visa application and issuance processes to further ease the system.
He
further stated that the Buhari-led administration’s sixth strategy would focus
on social investment and would implement social intervention programme and
specific health and education projects included in 2016 Budget, introduce
health sector interventions, including flagging off the revitalisation of one primary
health centre per Ward.
The
government said it targets a total of 10,000 health centres nationwide.
According
to the Vice President, the Social Investment plans include the training and
deployment of 500,000 unemployed graduates as volunteer teachers who would be
paid on the job while they seek jobs in their chosen careers, implementation of
‘Homegrown School Feeding’ for primary school pupils across the country paid
for by the government.
The
government will also introduce a micro-credit scheme that will provide very
soft loans to a million market women, artisans, traders and create innovation
and technology hubs and parks on a large scale and provide skills acquisition
and vocational training for over 300,000 non-graduate youths.
It
will also provide a ‘Conditional Cash Transfer’ where one million poor and
vulnerable Nigerians would receive 5,000 Naira monthly and a bursary awards for
tertiary education students of science, technology, engineering and maths and
STEM.
“Journey
to Change”
He
told the gathering that, as indicated by President Muhammadu Buhari in his 2016
Budget Presentation speech, the Administration remained committed to economic
diversification through import substitution, and export promotion, in order to
build a robust and resilient economy, as a lasting legacy for generations to
come.
“This
Strategic Implementation Plan therefore represents a significant step along this
Journey to Change.
“It
is important to underscore the point that we shall remain engaged with the
Nigerian people, including stakeholders in the economy.
“We
intend to start a quarterly meeting with members of the private sector and
other economic stakeholders soon and thereby create a forum for engagement on
an ongoing basis. Town-hall meetings at the presidential level would also be
resumed across the country to explain progress and address the challenges with
our people,” the Vice President said.
He,
however, urged Nigerians to remain patient and indeed expectant while stating
that the government acknowledged the pains and was concerned by them.
“We
are working diligently to address the tough challenges inherited from the
nation’s past.
“We
are taking action and in due course they would produce satisfying outcomes, for
they are borne out of a leadership that has no other agenda but the progress
and greatness of Nigeria,” he added.
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