The Niger State Development Plan (NSDP) 2025-2029, will implement Governor Umaru Bago-led administration’s New Niger agenda and is a medium-term blueprint designed to unlock the state’s potential in all sectors of the economy for sustainable, holistic and inclusive state development growth.
The State Commissioner of Budget and Planning, Mustapha Ndajiwo, stated this on Wednesday, during a town hall meeting of stakeholders’ preparation for the State’s Development Plan 2025-2029, in Minna, just as he affirmed that the plan focuses on economic growth and development, infrastructure, urban and rural renewal, human capital development and green economy blueprint.
Ndajiwo further disclosed that the plan notably seeks to increase awareness of climate issues, boost the production and use of renewable energy sources, and generally create the conditions for making the state’s economy sustainable.
He said the NSDP will be implemented by the members of the State Executive Council, organised Labour, civil society organizations and interest groups among others.
The Commissioner pointed out that the State’s Steering Committee of NSDP will develop the document outlining challenges of the state’s macroeconomic environment impacted by high dependence on crude oil for government’s revenue with implications to low productivity and efficiency, limited availability of credit for investment, particularly for MSMEs combined with inadequate financial instruments to help diversify risk, weak Infrastructure and rent-seeking activities increasing the costs of operation.
He added that the NSDP committee will look into the economic health impact of the State’s fiscal policies in a transparent and efficient manner, sustainability and economic recovery path of increasing per capita income to avert the past trend of higher population compared to the real income growth of the state.
He stated further that the NSDP Steering Committee will look into the macroeconomic stability by coordinating the fiscal policies of the State, to achieve a declining path of flexibility and consistency with macro-structural fundamentals.
Ndajiwo explained to stakeholders that the Niger State Development Plan( NSDP) State’s Steering Committee will design a prudent fiscal management with enhanced focus on mobilisation of non-oil revenues to engender increased spending on social-protection initiatives and reduce the dependency of the budget on statutory allocation with improve debt-servicing capacity.
He stressed that the plan will further accelerate the pace of economic diversification of all the sectors of the State’s economy that will be competitive to meet the domestic demands for goods and services, through improved business environment and streamlining multiple taxation.
In his words, “NSDP Steering Committee will develop an increase and more reliable provision of infrastructure, enhancing the performance of the State’s sectors and strengthening its linkages to other sectors particularly agriculture that will bring about increased employment intensity and growth, by deepening finances and sustaining stability to ensure increased credit allocation to MSMEs”.
He further highlighted that the NSDP State’s Steering Committee goal is critical in sourcing resource allocation and resource mobilisation plans that facilitate the sourcing of needed resources, adopting measures that will prevent the disruption of programmes and activities, in government-coordinated work across delivery units.
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