The Ministry of Budget and National Planning on Tuesday in Abuja unveiled the scale and purpose of the upcoming Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) Focus Labs, which will take place over a six week period, beginning March 13, 2018.

The Labs will be formally launched by President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Banquet Hall of the State House in Abuja on Tuesday, March 13.

The ERGP is designed to achieve three broad objectives:

•restore growth to a positive path and sustain it to, at least, 7% by 2020

•invest in our people and improve their living standards

•build an economy that is globally competitive

“Following the exit from recession and return to growth in 2017, the initial objectives are being achieved, and government is focused on sustaining and accelerating the rate of growth so as to achieve the broader objectives of the plan,” Budget and National Planning Minister, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, said on Thursday.

The Lab process is one of the several initiatives by government to fast track the attainment of those objectives. The labs will be conducted initially in three strategic sectors:

•Agriculture and transportation,

•Power and gas,

•Manufacturing and processing (including solid minerals).

“The objective is to align with the private sector on the projects that offer the most catalytic impact on investment and job creation and develop plans to implement them. The government is committed to addressing any inter-agency problems that could hinder or slow down investment, so as to stimulate interest amongst investors in investing in Nigeria,” Udoma said via a statement signed by his Spokesman Akpandem James.

The labs will:

•Identify projects which will drive catalytic growth that will contribute in increasing private investments and create new jobs for Nigerians (Entry Point Projects or EPPs).

•Develop clear implementation plans for each EPP with identified budget, key individuals responsible for these activities and accountable lead ministers along with key performance indicators.

•Breakdown silos to harness private-public partnerships.

•Align stakeholders to execute the plans.

•Build trust and credibility between the public and private sectors.

According to Udoma, “Over the last seven weeks, the ERGP implementation team have been working to map and understand the projects that exist across six (6) core sectors of the economy, and the stakeholders that are involved.

“This includes asking the private sector to submit project details to the implementation unit for review. The outcome of this process has been the identification of potential Entry Point Projects which investors and government can review and discuss over the coming weeks.”

Drawing attention to the fact that the focus labs structure has never been used before in Nigeria, the Minister explained that “what will happen is that we will invite potential and existing investors, both foreign and Nigerian, who may be interested in investing in any of the three areas we are focusing on to attend the closed-door sessions.”

Continuing, he said: “At the sessions they will have access in one location, to all the officials of government whose support, or approvals, they might need to enable them commit to an investment decision. In short, the focus labs will involve stakeholders from the public and private sectors working together in a single environment to think out practical and workable solutions for delivering the kind of results Nigeria needs.

“The central objective of the labs will be to bring in private capital to finance projects across the country. Our aim is, simply put, to raise the level of productivity in Nigeria. We want more things to be grown in Nigeria. We want more things to be made in Nigeria. We want more opportunities created for Nigerians to be able to work. That is what the focus labs are all about.”

Explaining how the labs will work, Udom said: “We will invite potential and existing investors, both foreign and Nigerian, who may be interested in investing in any of the three areas we are focusing on to attend the closed-door sessions. At the sessions they will have access in one location, to all the officials of government whose support, or approvals, they might need to enable them commit to an investment decision.

“In short, the focus labs will involve stakeholders from the public and private sectors working together in a single environment to think out practical and workable solutions for delivering the kind of results Nigeria needs.”

While indicating that the National Assembly and state governments will be part of the labs’ process to give support that will be critical for the take-off of many of the projects, the Minister added: “the involvement of nine (9) cabinet Ministers and their teams, as well as multiple agencies and departments, is a clear demonstration of the resolve and commitment that the government has to delivering on its obligations and delivering on the investment objectives of the ERGP.”

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