Buhari, ministers meet to find ways out of economic recession

– President Muhammadu
Buhari his deputy, ministers and
heads of federal minstries, agencies
and departments to meet in Abuja on
Thursday, September 15
– The emergency meeting will be
dedicated to searching for ways to
end economic recession in
Nigeria, discussing the 2017 budget
and priority areas of the MDAs
The Ministry of Budget and National
Planning has issued a statement
informing the general public about a
planned meeting, where President
Buhari, Vice President Yemi
Osinbajo, ministers and heads of
federal ministries, departments and
agencies will discuss steps to get
Nigeria’s economy out of recession
and more.
READ ALSO: Economic recession is
just a matter of time – Osinbajo
(video)
A statement released by the
spokesperson of Udo Udoma,
the minister of budget and national
planning, on Wednesday reads in
part: “The key objective of the retreat is
to discuss the 2017 budget as well as
discuss steps being taken to get the
economy out of recession.
The meeting is part of a scheduled
arrangement to fine-tune and set the
right parameters for the 2017 budget. It
will provide an opportunity to discuss
the framework of the 2017 budget, the
key priorities and the deliverables of the
budget.
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; and enhance knowledge of
how to develop 2017 budget which is
effectively linked with the medium term
plan.
The meeting will also review prioritized
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.”
READ ALSO: Presidency comments
on Dangote’s importation of
poisonous rice
Also the meeting will be attended
by private sector facilitators and
some economic experts who will
provide perspectives during the
technical sessions.
The retreat became necessary, as
years of the country’s growth and
development have been impeded by
mismatch between planned targets
and budgetary outcomes at the
national and sectoral levels due to
lack of synergy between the various
federal MDAs.
Recall that last week the National
Bureau of Statistics released a report
featuring figures for the 2016 second
quarter showing the nation’s
economy in deep recession.