The Ministry of Budget and National Planning is in the process of finalising Nigeria’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (NERGP) 2017 – 2020 development process. The plan is expected to be formally launched by President Mohammadu Buhari within the month.

As part of efforts towards carrying the critical sectors along and ensuring successful development of the Plan, a Forum is being organised for representatives of the private sector to actively engage their public sector counterparts on the proposals. This is expected to enrich the planned development process.

James Akpandem, Media Adviser to the Minister of Budget and National Planning disclosed in a statement that the Forum, scheduled for Monday, February 6, 2017, is expected to be chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

“The NERGP is a follow-up to the Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) which was a short term economic plan to drive the implementation of the 2016 Budget. In the SIP, government promised that it would deliver a more comprehensive economic recovery and growth plan subsequently.

“In developing the NERGP, government had said there will be extensive consultation with relevant stakeholders, including the state governments. In keeping with that promise, government has already engaged and discussed with economic experts, the organised private sector, civil society groups, the academia and state governments. The plan is now at its final stage and will soon be launched.

“The focus of the plan is to address current economic challenges, restore growth, and reposition the economy for sustained inclusive growth. It is principally targeted at getting the economy out of recession, getting people back to work, moving the country from a consuming nation to a producing nation, providing an environment for ease of doing business and creating jobs, among others.

“Implementation of the plan will be driven by strong political Will; close partnership and strong collaboration between the public and private sectors (especially in the areas of Agriculture, Manufacturing, Solid Minerals, Services and Infrastructure), a rigorous implementation plan and an effective delivery unit,” Akpandem said.

According to the statement, 59 strategies have been developed for implementation to achieve the strategic objectives of the plan, out of which 12 have been prioritised based on their importance to the success of the plan. These are to:

•Restore oil production to 2.2mbpd and reach 2.5mbpd by 2020

•Privatise selected assets

•Accelerate non-oil revenue generation

•Drastically cut costs

•Align monetary, trade and fiscal policies

•Expand Infrastructure especially Power, Roads and Rail

•Revamp the four existing refineries

•Improve Ease of Doing Business

•Expand social investment programmes

•Deliver on agricultural transformation

•Accelerate implementation of National Industrial Revolution Plan using  Special Economic Zones

•Focus on priority sectors in order to generate jobs, promote exports,  boost growth and upgrade skills

Also, the key Industrial and Trade Policy Initiatives in the Plan include:

•Resuscitation of the Export Expansion Grant geared towards providing export policy orientation for foreign exchange earnings diversification and global competitiveness;

•Strengthening the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Committee (PEBEC) to facilitate the improvement of the country’s business environment;

•Leveraging ICT to improve global competitiveness of the country Establishment of an ICT Ecosystem

•Expansion of Broadband coverage Establishment of “Innovations and Experience” centres and ICT clusters

•Enhancing support to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to maximise their contribution to growth, employment and export earnings

•Promoting the policy of Made-in-Nigeria

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