NAN
The Federal Government says it is optimistic the 2018 Nigeria Economic Summit (NES) will help to accelerate the achievement of the governance component of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).
Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma, the Minister for Budget and National Planning, made this known at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja to herald the summit.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the ERGP is a medium-term plan of 2017 to 2020, launched by the President Muhammadu Buhari in April 2017.
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ERGP sets out the direction of government policy for the economy to put it on path of a strong, diversified, inclusive and sustainable growth.
The strategy of the ERGP aims to address the issues of macroeconomic stabilisation, agriculture and food security, transportation, energy and industrialisation in the country.
“This year’s summit is designed to accelerate progress toward the implementation of the governance component of the ERGP.
“The ultimate goal is to stimulate discussions on accelerating implementation of the ERGP strategies on governance in order to enhance the social welfare of the Nigerian people.
“It is against this backdrop that the summit is structured along areas of corruption and rule of law, effective public institutions, sustainable economic opportunities, human development and participation and citizen’s right.
“The summit will underscore the link between good governance and economic growth and development as set out in the ERGP.
“And it will also highlight the current state of governance and challenges in delivering public services to citizens to identify ways of overcoming those challenges,’’ Udoma said.
The minister said that the government had continued to implement the various strategies outlined in the ERGP toward enhancing good governance and strengthening the country’s institutions and the results were encouraging.
While reiterating the positive outcomes of the implementation of the ERGP, Udoma said that more work still had to be done in the country.
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He expressed government’s commitment in sustaining implementation of policies geared toward good governance and strengthening of institutions toward the realisation of the objectives of the ERGP.
The minister commended the media and other corporate organisations that had continued to support the realisation of the summit, while urging for more media cooperation in reporting the two days event.
NAN reports that the NES is organised annually by the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) and the Federal Government represented by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning.
It provides a forum for dialogue among top stakeholders to reflect on issues constraining national development with the aim of building consensus to evolve common strategies and policy framework for addressing these issues.
The summit is will be help in Abuja from Oct. 22 to Oct. 23.