The National Economic Council (NEC) has approved a 90-day economic action plan to ease the cost of living, make food more affordable and attract investment, while urging federal and state governments to ensure that economic reforms deliver tangible benefits to Nigerians.
The council endorsed the plan, proposed by the Federal Ministry of Finance, at its 161st meeting on Thursday, chaired virtually by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
According to a statement by Shettima’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, the plan focuses on five areas: food affordability, tax harmonisation, completion of high-impact projects, removal of investment bottlenecks and regulated household support.
As part of efforts to improve accountability, the council also approved a national dashboard to monitor projects nationwide and track how proceeds from the removal of fuel subsidy are being utilised.
Shettima said the success of the government’s economic reforms should be judged by improvements in the daily lives of citizens, including access to affordable transport, healthcare, jobs and financial security.
“Our separate mandates must not become competing excuses. Each governor carries knowledge that no federal document can supply,” he said.
On transportation, Shettima urged authorities to measure the performance of the National Compressed Natural Gas Bus Initiative by its impact on commuters’ expenses rather than the number of buses deployed.
He said public transport should be affordable enough to enable Nigerians to reach their places of work and other destinations without spending an excessive proportion of their income on fares.
“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 said.
To support the transition to cleaner transport, the council resolved to establish a joint financing framework for the federal and state governments to accelerate the deployment of compressed natural gas and electric vehicles.
It also directed relevant authorities to engage transport unions and operators to ensure that savings from the use of the vehicles translate into lower fares for commuters.
Meanwhile, the council received an update from the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, on the reported Ebola outbreak in the Federal Capital Territory.
Pate assured members that Nigeria had the institutional capacity to contain the situation, identifying coordination, screening at entry points, laboratory testing, provision of essential medical kits and personal protective equipment, and public communication as priorities for the response.
He disclosed that 21 state governments had updated their preparedness and response plans and urged the remaining 15 states to put appropriate mechanisms in place.
The council also called on states to intensify polio eradication efforts, particularly in communities where children had been missed during immunisation campaigns and in areas affected by insecurity.
In another area, NEC acknowledged the potential of livestock development to generate employment, stimulate economic growth and improve livelihoods.
It consequently resolved to strengthen cooperation between the federal and state governments to advance the sector.
SOURCE: LEADERSHIP NEWS PAPER