A collaborative multi-pronged plan to ease the cost of living for Nigerians was unveiled yesterday after the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting.
The Federal and state governments will work jointly to achieve the objectives of the plan which is designed for implementation over 90 days.
NEC the highest economic policy coordination body of the government is chaired by the Vice President and comprises members of the Federal Government’s economic team and state governors.
The plan comes amid efforts to cushion the impact of rising petrol prices following the 30-day petrol price discount announced by the Federal Government on October 1.
The emergency measures include making food more affordable accelerating the delivery of projects that will directly improve Nigerians’ welfare and establishing a joint financing framework between the Federal and state governments to support the nationwide deployment of compressed natural gas (CNG) and electric vehicles.
The Council also approved a national dashboard to monitor projects across the federation and ensure transparency and accountability in the utilisation of proceeds from the removal of petrol subsidy.
The decisions were reached at the 161st NEC meeting held virtually and presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Presentations were made by Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Taiwo Oyedele; Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare Mohammed Ali Pate; Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles Ismaeel Ahmed; Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on Polio Eradication and Gombe State Governor Inuwa Yahaya; and Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on Livestock Development and Kebbi State Governor Nasir Idris.
According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications Office of the Vice President Stanley Nkwocha the 90-day action plan identifies five priority areas.
They are food affordability tax harmonisation completion of high-impact projects removal of investment bottlenecks and regulated household support.
The measures are intended to consolidate the gains of economic reforms while ensuring that improvements in macroeconomic indicators translate into tangible relief for households and businesses.
Presenting the economic outlook Oyedele expressed optimism about the administration’s reform programmes identifying the reduction of headline inflation and interest rates to single digits by 2027 as major policy objectives.
He stressed that achieving these targets would require coordinated implementation of economic policies across federal and state institutions as well as interventions to address the immediate challenges confronting Nigerians.
The minister emphasised the importance of improved fiscal coordination targeted support for vulnerable households and the removal of obstacles discouraging investment and economic expansion.
Shettima challenged governors to ensure that the benefits of the administration’s economic reforms were reflected in affordable transportation improved healthcare employment opportunities and greater financial security for Nigerians.
He said economic reforms would ultimately be judged not by official pronouncements or statistical improvements alone but by their impact on the everyday lives of citizens.
‘The first dividend of prosperity should be the confidence to plan a life. Our task is to make such confidence less dependent on fortune’ the Vice President declared.
According to him deliberations on transportation healthcare police reform and livestock development were fundamentally about improving Nigerians’ quality of life and making government institutions more responsive to their needs.
‘Our separate jurisdictions must serve a common public interest’ he said urging governors to strengthen cooperation with the Federal Government in implementing policies that directly affect citizens.
On affordable transportation the Vice President warned against measuring the success of the National CNG Bus Initiative merely by the number of vehicles deployed insisting that reduced transport fares and accessibility must remain the primary considerations.
‘The cost of reaching a livelihood should never consume the livelihood itself. The passenger’s experience must guide our ambition because the value of public transport resides in the journeys it makes possible. We should assess success through affordability and access rather than fleet size alone’ he stated.
Shettima said Tinubu’s economic reforms were designed to lay the foundation for broader national prosperity but stressed that governments at all levels must demonstrate the capacity to translate policy objectives into improvements in living standards.
‘President Tinubu has made economic reform the instrument of a larger national ambition. Our contribution must give that ambition social depth and productive strength’ he said.
The Vice President urged governors to bring their understanding of local economic and social realities into national policy decisions noting that effective implementation required clearly defined responsibilities among the three tiers of government.
‘Our separate mandates must not become competing excuses. Each Governor carries knowledge that no federal document can supply’ he said.
He urged NEC members to evaluate every policy proposal based on its potential to reduce uncertainty create opportunities and strengthen public confidence in government.
‘Nigerians deserve institutions on which they can organise their lives. Providing that assurance is among the most consequential uses of public authority. That is the assurance we owe them’ Shettima added.
15 states yet to
update Ebola
preparedness plans
Prof. Pate assured NEC members that Nigeria had the institutional capacity to contain the spread of Ebola and prevent a major public health crisis.
He outlined measures being implemented by the Federal Ministry of Health in collaboration with relevant agencies and stakeholders to strengthen the national emergency response.
He identified effective coordination surveillance and detection at points of entry laboratory testing the provision of essential medical kits and personal protective equipment and strategic public communication as critical components of the containment strategy.
The minister said 21 states had updated their Ebola preparedness and response plans while urging the remaining 15 to urgently establish the necessary mechanisms to respond to potential infections.
The briefing followed the confirmation of an Ebola case in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) which prompted the activation of emergency public health response measures.
NEC intensifies push for polio eradication
NEC directed states to intensify efforts towards eradicating polio particularly in communities affected by insecurity and areas where children had been missed during previous immunisation campaigns.
They were urged to conduct comprehensive post-campaign reviews to identify gaps in immunisation coverage and develop measures to reach children previously excluded from vaccination.
NEC emphasised the timely release of counterpart funds strengthening of routine immunisation programmes and improved cooperation with security agencies to facilitate access to vulnerable communities.
It stressed that sustained political commitment from governors traditional rulers and security agencies would be essential to achieving complete polio eradication.
States back livestock development initiative
The Council acknowledged the livestock development sector’s potential to stimulate economic growth generate employment and improve livelihoods.
It noted that all 36 states had indicated interest in supporting the Federal Government’s livestock development initiatives and resolved to strengthen collaboration to accelerate reforms in the sector.
‘CNG must reduce transport costs’
The Council insisted that the CNG initiative must produce measurable reductions in transportation costs rather than merely increase the number of alternative-energy vehicles operating across the country.
Consequently relevant authorities were directed to engage transport unions and operators to ensure that savings arising from the use of CNG and electric vehicles were passed on to passengers through lower fares.
To implement the resolution NEC agreed to establish a committee to coordinate the proposed financing arrangement engage stakeholders and develop practical mechanisms for delivering affordable accessible and sustainable transportation.