The federal government has on Tuesday assured citizens of the country that, the present administration under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has taken a holistic step to address untoward hardships currently being experienced in the ongoing economic reforms of the country that have partly affected them.
The Permanent Secretary, Budget and Economic Planning, Nebeolisa Anako appealed to them to be patient with this administration as the country’s economy would soon bounce back for good while speaking at the 22nd edition of the Joint Planning Board (JPB) meeting held at Osogbo.
According to him, the present challenges are temporary and will soon be a thing of the past and all necessary attentions are being given to them by the federal government to tackle what economic reforms that led to removal of fuel subsidy has brought to Nigerians.
“The present administration is doing everything possible to address the hardship faced by Nigerians in the wake of economic reforms, which has resulted in the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the Naira.
“These challenges, which are temporary, will be over with time.
“I therefore want to use this opportunity to urge you to use your esteemed positions to aggressively sensitize the Nigerian public on the long-term benefits of these policies.”
“The recent approval of N5 billion and some consignment of foodstuff to each State of the Federation were immediate measures taken to mitigate the hardship caused as a result of these reforms. It is hoped that as other medium-term measures are unfolding, Nigerians would appreciate the rationale behind these important decisions so far taken”.
Meanwhile, the permanent secretary described agriculture as the backbone of any given society and charged various state governments to get it embraced, to confront economic problems being experienced in their respective states.
He remarked: “Let me use this opportunity to urge all the Representatives of the 36 States here to encourage their respective Governors and stakeholders to pay more attention to the development of the agricultural value-chain for improved bio-economy.
“Pay more attention to the Food Systems transformation Pathways for improved Nutrition as panaceas to reducing unemployment, and stunted growth, particularly in the Rural and Under-Served Areas of the nation, in line with the declaration of State of emergency in the sector, by this Administration.”
While maintaining that, agriculture would focus on addressing hardship among the populace due to several economic reforms of the present administration, he charged them not to deviate from agricultural value chain to drive the country’s economic development and tackle poverty among the populace.
“Focusing on the Agricultural value chain could improve the bio-economy while enhancing nutritional value could be achieved through a focus on the food transformation pathway thereby tackling stunted growth among rural dwellers.
“Focusing on food system transformation could fight malnutrition and enhance employment opportunities for youths.
“We must strengthen the collaboration and synergy between the Federal Government, the State Government, and Local Governments towards effective implementation of all the resolutions/decisions of the Joint Planning Board/National Council on Development Planning (JPB/NCDP) as a way to fastrack national developmental objectives”, he submitted.
Speaking at the occasion, the state governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, charged participants to come up with immediate measures to mitigate the challenges caused by the present economic reforms through subsidy removal and floating of the Naira.
According to him, the meeting would restore Nigeria’s economic fortune through effective policy implementation in the long run.
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