President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday, September 15
presided over the Ministerial Retreat on the Economy and the Budget at the
State House Banquet Hall in Abuja. Continue to see his address below…
I am delighted to be here with you at this Ministerial
Retreat on the Economy and the Budget. The theme of the Retreat which is
“Building Inter-ministerial Synergy for Effective Planning and Budgeting in
Nigeria” is very apt and timely, especially as we are in the process of
developing the 2017 Budget.
2. Over the years, there has been a mismatch between planned
targets and budgetary outcomes at the National and sectorial levels. The
Federal MDAs have not also benefited significantly from working together and
building consensus around common national objectives. This has impeded growth and
development of the country.
3. It is in this context that this Retreat has been designed
to discuss issues around the State of the Economy and build consensus amongst
Cabinet Members and top Government officials. The Retreat will also serve as an
opportunity to have a general overview of the economy and discuss the framework
for the 2017 Budget, its key priorities and deliverables.
4. This Retreat is coming at a critical time in our economic
history, when the Nigerian economy is in a recession, with significant downturn
in performance in various sectors. It is with regard to the importance of this
Retreat that I decided to sit through the first part of the session to listen
to the views from experienced economists and development experts on how best to
implement our plans to rid the country of its oil dependence and to diversify
the economy and bring the country out of the current economic recession.
5. This is in line with our Administration’s determination
to lay a solid foundation for growth and development as outlined in the
Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) of our Change Agenda.
6. Given that this Retreat is a lead-up to the 2017 Budget,
my expectation is that we will come out of the these sessions with a
determination and common position on how to have improved synergy amongst the
various Ministries and Departments for the effective formulation and
implementation of the 2017 Budget.
7. I also trust that the breakout sessions will enable you
to discuss extensively amongst yourselves, the details of the four sub-themes
and come up with practical solutions on the way forward in order to come out
with a set of prioritized projects and programmes that will fit into the 2017
Budget.
8. In this regard, let me inform you that because of the
need to focus on our key priorities, some Ministries may get significantly less
capital allocation than they received in 2016, while others may get significantly
more.
9. You may notice that some key non-spending agencies, such
as the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), the Bureau of
Public Enterprises (BPE), the National Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA)
and the National Pension Commission (PENCOM), are participants at this Retreat.
10. This deliberate inclusion underscores the commitment of
this Administration to leverage on private sector resources, through Public
Private Partnerships (PPP) and other arrangements, in order to augment the
scarce budgetary resources at our disposal and to accelerate investments in
building critical infrastructure.
11. Indeed, the challenges we face in the current recession
require ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking, to deploy strategies that involve engaging
meaningfully with the private sector, to raise the level of private sector
investment in the economy as a whole.
12. We are confident that the level of private investment
will grow as we are determined to make it easier to do business in Nigeria by
the reforms we are introducing under the auspices of the Presidential Committee
on Ease of Doing Business.
13. Let me reiterate that this Government will continue to
strategize on how we can turn the current challenges into opportunities for our
nation and especially for our vibrant youth on whose shoulders lies the future
of this nation. This is why we have embarked on measures and actions that will
open up the opportunities we have seen in the Power, Housing, Agriculture,
Mining, Trade and Investment, Information Communication Technology (ICT)
Sectors, Tourism, Transport and other sectors.
14. I wish to reassure its teeming youth that this
Government would remain steadfast in its effort to ensure greater progress and
prosperity for you.
15. While Government is taking the lead in the task of
repositioning our economy for Change, we cannot achieve this completely by
ourselves. We will need, and we ask for the support and cooperation of the
private sector’s domestic and foreign investors, the States and Local Governments,
the National Assembly and the Judiciary as well as all well-meaning Nigerians
in this important task. We are confident that working together, we shall
succeed.
16. Finally, I trust that the cabinet members will learn
from the experiences of the Resource persons and facilitators to prioritise
their sector programmes and projects to bring the country out of the current
economic recession and place it on the path of growth and development.
17. I therefore urge the Honourable Ministers and other
senior government officials here present, to actively participate in the Second
Technical Session, which I believe will provide you with deeper insight into
the complex issues that will open opportunities for you to identify critical
priority projects and programmes for the 2017 Budget.
18. At this juncture, may I formally recognize and acknowledge the presence of the array of experts invited to serve as resource persons and facilitators at this Retreat. I am confident that Ministers and Senior Government officials will benefit immensely from your expertise and wealth of experience.
19. I wish you all fruitful deliberations and look forward
to receiving the report of the Retreat.
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