President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will today, Thursday, September 15, 2016, join ministers and heads of relevant Federal Government Departments and Agencies, to present and discuss priority areas of the 2017 Budget. Venue of the retreat being organised by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning is the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.

A statement issued on Wednesday by the ministry said that the retreat is part of its arrangements “to set the right parameters and fine-tune the 2017 Budget, so as to align with priority areas of the MDAs with national growth and development objectives.

According to the statement, “The key objective of the retreat is to discuss the 2017 Budget as well as discuss steps that are being taken to get the economy out of recession. It will provide an opportunity to discuss the framework of the 2017 Budget, the key priorities and the deliverables of the budget.”

The statement, signed James Akpandem, Media Adviser to Budget and National Planning Minsiter, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, disclosed that private sector facilitators and some economic experts are expected to provide perspectives during the technical sessions of the retreat.

It explained that “the retreat has become necessary because, over the years, the country’s growth and development have been impeded by mismatch between plan targets and budgetary outcomes at the national and sectoral levels, due to lack of synergy between the various Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).”

The statement added that “the retreat is expected to deliver improved understanding of the measures being taken to get the country out of recession; improve synergy among the various ministries for enhanced implementation of planning and budget; enhanced knowledge of how to develop 2017 Budget which is effectively linked with the medium term plan; prioritised projects and programmes of ministries to fit into the 2017-2019 MTSS, 2017-2020 Medium Term Plan and 2017 Budget; and improved understanding on Budget ceiling for MDAs for 2017 Budget.”

•Photo shows President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo.

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