Agba urges students, youths to plan future dreams

Our Reporter

MINISTER of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, has advised students and other young Nigerians to embrace planning towards achieving their dreams in life.

Agba spoke on Wednesday when some pupils of Whitesands School, Lekki, Lagos, led by two teachers, Messrs Matthew Omotosho and Kinsley David Adaigbe, visited him in Abuja.

Responding to a question from one of the students, Agba said planning remained a critical factor in the implementation of projects and budgets.

He gave the advice when the pupils responded differently to his question: which one comes first between planning and budget?

The minister of state stressed that “budget flows from planning”.

He added: “While Nigeria’s national plan could be for a minimum of five years, budget is an annual document in which funds are allocated to the various projects that have been planned and captured for execution.

“In your planning, you ask yourself: where do I want to be in the next three to five years or five to 10 years? You project on the revenues you are going to get. And, remember that a budget has two sides – income and expenditure.”

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The minister’s take-home message to the pupils as well as other Nigerian youths was for them to dream big and aspire to fulfil their dreams by burning the candle, if possible, at both ends.

“If your dream is to be a President, you have to prepare yourself. You have to develop your character. It is for this reason that for you to be awarded a university degree, you would have been found worthy in character and in learning. Without character, you cannot have integrity,” Agba said.

After a question-and-answer session, during which the minister explained the budget process and other issues of concern raised by the pupils, Agba, in simulation of role reversal, allowed his young guests to individually sit on his chair while he sat in the visitor’s seat facing the acting “ministers”.

The simulation was pictorially recorded.

The pupils showed the minister a ball-kicking robot they built, which would be deployed in a science and technology competition in Abuja.