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Tag: Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP)

Nigeria needs manpower to develop infrastructure – CMD

Dr Kabir Usman, Director-General, Centre for Management Development ( CMD ), says Nigeria needs very skilled manpower to develop the country’s infrastructure.

Usman said in a statement by CMD consultant, Abdulkadir Ahmed on Tuesday in Abuja, that there was a huge gap in the areas of power, agriculture, construction and the like in the country that needed to be filled.

The director general said the mandate of the centre was to ensure standard training programmes that would boost capacity, proffer solutions to manpower shortage and thus develop infrastructure in the country.

He said the centre would organise regular events for the public and private sectors to discuss areas of common interest, trends and current capacity building programmes.

“This is with a view to do need assessment survey and proffer solutions in areas where we have shortage of skilled manpower.

“The CMD acts as a secretariat and we provide all the relevant background information to make/formulate policies, review policies and design policies for the country in areas of management education.

“We provide consultancy services so we can show the way in terms of high quality and the standard of what is expected by consultants to actually practise across the country.

“The centre also conducts research in all aspect of management education in order to understand the Nigeria situation; to see where skills needs to be addressed, where there is shortage in skilled manpower and we proffer solutions.

“Our vision of course is very clear; we want to be the centre of excellence that promotes management education and we want to provide quality education in the country,’’ Usman said.

According to Usman, the centre has trained over 3,000 participants in the areas of leadership, strategic management, project management, result- based monitoring and evaluation framework and on issues of emotional intelligence.

The director general said CMD had done quite a lot of training for the various consultants in the country to make sure that they adhered to ethical code of practice.

“We ensure they do what they are supposed to do; they are guided ethically and that they have the competences in terms of analysis and identification of areas of skilled gaps.

“We have also gone throughout all the 36 states plus the FCT; we conducted training needs assessment for Departments of planning research and statistics across the federation.

“We have produced research reports, we produced interim reports, we are now analysing the data to produce a final report and it is that report that we are going to send to all the state governors.

The CMD boss said the centre had produced a brochure of about 120 programmes that would act as a direction to all management consultant developers in the country.

On recession, Usman stated that the country got out of recession due to the effect of the Federal Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan ( ERGP ).

He, however, noted that the ERGP was only a medium term plan, adding that the private and public sectors had a role to play to fully get the country out of recession.

Usman said “ that role includes provision of infrastructure, diversification of the economy, getting the right micro economic framework and also ensuring that there is prudence, frugality, transparency and accountability in the economy.

“We cannot deliver this plan without skilled manpower, so capacity is very important and that is why we must understand where there is need to build capacity so that we can deliver the dividends of democracy in that respect.’’

September 26, 2017
Minister seeks APC support on implementation of ERGP

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma has solicited the support of the APC and other stakeholders for the full implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

Udoma made the call in during the presentation of ERGP 2017 to 2020 and the 2017 report, presented by his Media Adviser, Mr James Akpandem on Thursday in Abuja.

Udoma gave the presentation to the members of National Working Committee of APC on the 2017 Budget on the effective implementation of the ERGP to pull the economy out of recession.

The presentation was part of the ministry’s ongoing stakeholders enlightenment programme on ERGP.

The report projects that Nigeria will make significant progress to achieve structural economic change with a more diversified and inclusive economy in five key areas by 2020.

The key areas are stable macro-economic environment; agriculture and food security; ensure energy sufficiency in power and petroleum products; and drive industrialisation, focusing on Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as well as improve transportation infrastructure.

The minister said the support of the party would go a long way in achieving the objectives of the plan, starting with the 2017 budget.

“Implementation of the 2017 budget will be targeted at achieving the objectives of the ERGP and delivering on the promises of the APC and of Mr President.

“The ERGP is a plan for all Nigerians and we need the cooperation of all for its success.

“Particularly, the support of the party’s hierarchy is required to ensure delivery of the plan,” he said.

According to him, the ministry will continue to strengthen its monitoring and evaluation framework, covering physical inspection, verification and impact assessment of projects and programme implemented by Ministries Departments Agencies (MDAs).

Udoma said that the 2017 Budget was the first in the life of ERGP Implementation.

“The 2017 Budget Macro Framework is derived from the ERGP.

“Much of the capital provision in the 2017 budget is directed at projects that are aligned with the core execution priorities of the ERGP.

“The 2017 Budget is designed to expand partnership between public and private sector as well as development capital to leverage and catalyse resources for growth,’’ he said.

The minister, however, highlighted some important areas of the 2017 Budget Framework to APC leadership.

“Total revenue is projected at N5.08 trillion, exceeding executive proposal by 2.9 per cent.

“Oil revenue projections (41.7 per cent) of Federal Government Revenue Budget is 6.9 per cent higher than Executive Proposal.

“Eleven per cent of projected revenue expected from recoveries of looted and misappropriated funds and fines,’’ he said.

According to him, 2017 Federal Government spending is estimated at N7.441 trillion.

He said that debt service and provision to retire maturing bond to local contractors were retained at N1.66 trillion and N177.46 billion, respectively.

“Recurrent (non-debt) spending is almost held constant at N2.99 trillion.

“However, capital expenditure including capital in transfers grew by 5.3 per cent.

“Thus, additional revenues were deployed to capital projects.”

Udoma further said that overall budget deficit was N2.356 trillion, which represented 2.18 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

He said that projected deficit was within 3.5 per cent of GDP threshold stipulated in the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) 2007.

“Budget deficit is to be financed mainly by borrowing N2.32 trillion from domestic sources of N1.25 trillion while foreign sources will be N1.06 trillion.

“A total of N35 billion expected as revenue from sales of government property and privatisation proceeds,” the minister said.

July 7, 2017
Ageing: Stakeholders task Women Affairs Ministry on workplan

The National Task Force for Partners in Population and Development (PPD) on South- South Cooperation has urged the Ministry of Women Affairs to produce a workplan on ageing.

The task force, comprising stakeholders from relevant organisations, gave the task at a one-day meeting on the PPD for Mainstreaming Demographic Dividend into Budgeting of Ministries Department and Agencies (MDAs) in Abuja.

The meeting, organised by the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning, and supported by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), attracted key MDAs working in areas of population and development.

It discussed issues relating to planning and budgeting for population management to achieving demographic dividend in line with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

Mrs Grace Obi-Ukpabi, an official of the Ministry of Budget and National Planning who read the Next Steps on behalf of the partners, said the ministry was expected to present the workplan in the third quarter of PPD meeting.

Obi-Ukpabi said that Women Affairs Ministry should liaise with the UNFPA in developing the workplan that would clearly speak to ageing if they desire financial support from development partners, especially UNFPA.

“Women Affairs Ministry is to take a visible lead by articulating programmes and projects that fit into the ERGP as stated in the document.

“The ministry should follow the priority areas captured in number 43, page 157 of the Plan.’’

The priority in number 43 states that the ministry should take a lead in social inclusion programmes by introducing social programmes for aged and physically challenged.

Key activities should include introducing a national relief programme for the aged, launched a national programme for the physically challenged and other vulnerable groups.

The ministry is also expected to design infrastructure to enable access for the physically challenged.

Obi-Ukpabi said that the Women Affairs Ministry should able to plan and budget for those programmes and projects, and made its presentation to other partners for their inputs.

She said the Ministry of Budget and Planning would support in guiding the budgeting process.

Similarly, the official said the Ministry of Youth Development should do a presentation to show how the youth population could lead to demographic dividend.

She said that other stakeholders should also study the ERGP and design programmes that would speak to their areas.

Obi-Ukpabi said that the meeting agreed that Dave Omokaro Foundation, a leading NGO on ageing should support the Ministry of Women Affairs and others stakeholders on the issue.

She said that the foundation should also support in building the capacity of stakeholders for better understanding of ageing issues in the country.

In addition, the official said that the Ministry of Labour and Productivity should also come up with programmes that would engage the retirees.

“The issue of ageing should be that of investment and we expect that in the next meeting the ministry should present how to increase productivity of the retirees,’’ she said.

Meanwhile, according to the ERGP, the Ministry of Budget and National Planning is expected to develop and implement the revised Population Policy while Ministry of Health is expected to review current status of Population Policy.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the National Task Force for PPD is the bridge builder in implementing the objectives of the South-South Cooperation.

It seeks to implement the objectives of promoting family planning, gender, sexual and reproductive health as well as population and development to enhance capacity building.

June 29, 2017
2018 Budget: FG considers special intervention fund for NAPTIP – Minister

Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma, Minister Budget and National Planning, says the Federal Government is considering providing special intervention funds for victims of human trafficking in the 2018 budget.

Udoma said this when he received the Director-General of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Ms Julie Donli, on Thursday in Abuja.

The minister said the visit was timely as the ministry had begun the preparation for the 2018 budget and the ministry would consider the request of the agency in providing special intervention funds for it.

“We can now reflect some of your requirements in the 2018 budget, but I think you should work closely with your supervising ministry (Ministry of Justice).

“You need to work with your ministry to get your needs included in the budget when submitting to the Budget Office,’’ he said.

Udoma, however, assured the agency of the ministry’s support to address its challenges.

The minister said the priority of the administration was to invest in Nigerians, adding that it is the reason the government inaugurated the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

“Investing in our people is not just Nigerians here, it is for Nigerians everywhere because we have a responsibility for the welfare of every Nigerian.’’

He commended the agency for living up to its responsibility in addressing issues of trafficking in the country.

Earlier, Donli spoke on the challenges hindering the agency to perform its mandate effectively.

“Our challenges are enormous; our funding is inadequate for this kind of job we are expected to do.

“The envelope system cannot work for us. We need to be classified as a proper security agency because our job is similar to that of EFCC.

“ There is no absolute difference between the and NAPTIP in terms of operations and job description,’’ she said.

According to her, NAPTIP has nine zonal commands in the 36 states of the federation and it requires a lot of funding.

Donli expressed worry over the state of the agency’s operational vehicles, adding that they were donated to the agency by donor agencies over 10 years.

“There was Presidential order in 2014 to sort it out and over N309 million was approved and it was supposed to spread over the 2015 and 2016 budget.

“We have not really had our own vehicles, the ones we have are old and rickety and our officials are using their own vehicles to work.’’

Besides, the director-general decried lack of funds in rehabilitating and repatriation of victims as well as prosecuting those involved in the act.

“There is need to provide special intervention funds for us to facilitate the rescue and repatriation of traffickers victims from various parts of the world, especially Africa.

“We have no fewer than 5,000 victims awaiting rescue from Mali alone; every day we get people coming from Libya, Spain, Italy; every day they come in their hundreds and we are at dilemma.

“Coming to prosecution, we ought to have more cases of conviction.

“Right now, we can only boost of 323 cases, over the years, we have rescued 10,685 victims, we cannot prosecute them,’’ she lamented.

She solicited the support of all stakeholders in achieving the mandate of NAPTIP.

“Also, we encourage people to report cases of human trafficking just to help us trace assets of traffickers as well.

“The law gives us the power to trace and seize the assets of traffickers through the court for the benefit of the victims of trafficking,’’ Donli said.

June 22, 2017
2018 budget: FRC advises FG to stick to ERGP

The Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) has advised the Federal Government to stick to the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) in processing the 2018 Appropriation Bill to boost the nation’s economy.

FRC Acting Chairman, Mr Victor Muruako, gave the advice while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

He said that the ERGP was a very important and compact document that would help set the right stage for the nation to get back on the path of growth.

“That well-articulated plan is a roadmap to boost our economic growth.

“It is a very bold statement on which most of the 2018 appropriation requirements or plans will have a foothold and there must be strict adherence to this roadmap.

“With this plan, the nation is on the right path,” he said.

Muruako, however, said although it was not the first time that the nation had come up with a very good master plan or roadmap, it must stick to the plan to benefit from it.

He commended the Federal Government for coming up with measures to ensure that the nation returned to the usual January to December budget cycle.

He said that the 2018 budget calendar was already out and the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, had issued executive orders to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to ensure that the nation gets back on track.

“There are three executive orders issued by the acting president and order number two clearly specifies that all financial transactions relating to the national budget and appropriation must adhere strictly to time.

“There is a new wave of commitment to stick to financial plan, particularly the ERGP 2017-2020 and this has set the right tone for the nation to return to the usual budget cycle of January to December.”

According to him, the order specifies that every MDAs must, before July 31, submit its budget details to the Minister for Budget and National Planning who will then work on it.

He said that there was a firm commitment by the Acting President and the economic team to submit the budget proposal of 2018 to the National Assembly within the first week of October 2017.

Muruako said that this would give the National Assembly the necessary time to work on it and for the President to study and give assent before Dec. 31.

He said that with this, the financial life of the nation could begin on Jan. 1.

He, however, said that the 2017 Appropriation Bill that was recently signed into law by the acting president may encounter some challenges in implementation because its late passage.

“It is coming a bit late, so obviously, there may be some challenges in the full implementation of the budget.”

He also advised that henceforth, more stakeholders should be involved in the budgetary process to get it right.

June 18, 2017
FG tags 2017 budget on economic recovery, growth

The Federal Government has christened the 2017 Budget which was signed into law on Monday by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo as “Budget of Economic Recovery and Growth”.

Osinbajo said the name reflected the commitment of the administration to ensure strong linkage between the medium-term Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) recently launched by President Muhammadu Buhari and the annual budgets.

According to him, it is designed to bring the Nigerian economy out of recession unto a path of sustainable and inclusive growth.

“The budget has a revenue projection of N5.08 trillion and an aggregate expenditure of N7.44 trillion.

“The projected fiscal deficit of N2.36 trillion is to be financed largely by borrowing,’’ Osinbajo said.

He assured those who had expressed concern about the growing public debt that “we are taking several actions to grow government revenues as well as plug revenue leakages.

“This is because, notwithstanding the fact that our borrowings are still within sustainability limits, we are determined, in the medium term, to reduce our reliance on borrowings to finance our expenditures’’.

The acting president noted that the economy was already signaling a gradual recovery as growth was headed towards positive territory.

He said that the first quarter GDP estimated at -0.52 per cent compared favourably with -2.06 per cent in the first quarter of 2016.

He also said that inflation was declining to 17.24 per cent from 18.74 per cent as at May 2016.

Osinbajo also observed that the country’s external reserves rose to US$30.28 billion as at June 8, 2017 from US$26.59 billion as at May 31, 2016.

“We are also gradually instilling confidence in our exchange rate regime.

“This improvement in GDP growth and other macro-economic indicators is largely attributable to our strategic implementation of the 2016 Budget as well as stronger macroeconomic management and policy coordination.’’

The acting president also expressed confidence that the 2017 Budget would deliver positive economic growth and prosperity “that is self-sustaining and inclusive’’.

Accordingly, he said that the 2017 budget will be implemented in line with the administration’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.

He said that over the 2017-2020 plan period “we are focusing on five key execution priorities”, namely: stabilising the macroeconomic environment; agriculture and food security; energy sufficiency in power and petroleum products.

He also mentioned improved transportation infrastructure and industrialisation through support for micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs).

“The 2017 budget includes provisions that reflect these priorities.

“To demonstrate our commitment to following through our Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, the 2017 budget allocates over N2 trillion to capital expenditure, principally infrastructure.

“We are committing over N200 billion to improve transport infrastructure such as roads and rail; over N500 billion for investments in works, power, and housing.

“And N46 billion is for Special Economic Zone Projects to be set up in each geopolitical zone,’’ he added.

June 13, 2017
NASS will help to improve business environment – Dogara

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, has assured that the National Assembly will act on legislations that will improve Nigeria’s business environment.

Dogara gave the assurance on Monday in his remarks at the one year anniversary of National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable (NASSBER) in Abuja.

He commended NASSBER for the successes it had achieved over the last one year, saying that the group’s efforts would lead to robust and responsive private sector.

“Looking back the last 12 months, NASSBER is but a success story of novel synergy, dialogue and engagement between the legislature, development partner, the private sector, the bench and citizens.

“The National Assembly will continue to play a central role not only in governance but also ensuring that we deliberate and act on frameworks that will improve Nigeria’s business environment.

“This we will do through the review of relevant legislations and provisions of the constitution.

“A little over a year ago when NASSBER was inaugurated, we were very confident it was the right step to take if we were indeed committed to bringing our economy out of recession, and stimulating long term economic growth.”

Dogara urged members of the NASSBER Committees to provide the strategic guidance needed to move the roundtable initiative forward.

He added that they were on course to having the law as a proactive instrument to promote development and, therefore, influence and change present realities.

The speaker congratulated DFID ENABLE project, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), and the Nigerian Bar Association – Session on Business Law (NBA-SBL) for their service to the nation through the project.

He said that the outcome of their efforts will lead to an agile private sector that could respond to global opportunities.

“As a result of this effort, I am more confident that our economy would attract ‘agile private sector that can innovate and respond to global opportunities’ as contemplated in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of this government,” he said.

The speaker also commended the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, for demonstrating leadership and an unwavering commitment to the NASSBER process.

June 6, 2017
Saraki harps on govt, private sector partnership for development

The President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has said that nation can only develop if there is co-operation between government and the private sector.

Saraki stated this during a dialogue session to mark the first anniversary of the National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable (NASSBER) in Abuja.

Commenting on efforts by the federal legislature towards making impact on development, Saraki said, “For us in the 8^th National Assembly lawmaking is not about the number of bills, it is more about impact and we will continue to focus on quality and impact on our people over any other considerations.

“This is what makes the 8^th National Assembly unique as we are determined to only make laws that will have positive impact on our people”.

He noted that for the first time in the history of the country, the National Assembly, in partnership with the private sector, through the NASSBER, initiated a research study to review the legislative instruments impeding doing business in Nigeria and received a report detailing the necessary legislative action required to begin the process of changing the unsupportive legal structures, weak institutional base and obsolete regulatory frameworks in the nation’s business environment.

“We want to see that these bills can actually help us create jobs, mobilize private sector investment and promote made in Nigeria goods. We would expect that the breakout sessions will offer us a new set of legislative interventions that will help further to cement the impact the first tranche of our work is having”, Saraki added.

The Senate President thanked the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Department for International Development (DFID), ENABLE project, and the Nigerian Bar Association – Section on Business Law (NBA, SBL) for their steadfastness and commitment to the vision and purpose of NASSBER, which is to facilitate constructive engagement and collaboration between the National Assembly and the Private sector.

Also speaking at the event, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, who was represented by the Deputy Speaker, Yussuf Lasun, noted that the NASSBER initiative was a right step in the right direction towards the enhancement of the economy.

Dogara said, “A little over a year ago when NASSBER was inaugurated, we were very confident it was the right step to take if we were indeed committed to bringing our economy out of recession, and stimulating long term economic growth that is inclusive and sustainable for the shared prosperity of all Nigerians.

“For the National Assembly, it was a road not travelled before, but we were willing to embark on this journey, not minding the risks, considering the promises it held. Looking back the last 12 months, NASSBER is but a success story of novel synergy, dialogue and engagement between the legislature, development partner, the private sector, the bench and citizens.

“The National Assembly will continue to play a central role not only in governance but also ensuring that we deliberate and act on frameworks that will improve Nigeria’s business environment through the review of relevant legislations and provisions of the constitution.

“As a result of this effort, I am more confident that our economy would attract ‘agile private sector that can innovate and respond to global opportunities’, as contemplated in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of this government”.

June 5, 2017
Budget: Stakeholders urge FG to allocate 10% to Agriculture

Participants of the Stakeholders Consultative Meeting on 2018 Agriculture Budget have urged the Federal Government to allocate 10 per cent of the nation’s annual budgets to finance the agricultural sector.

They made the call in a communique issued at the end of their meeting in Kaduna; a copy of which was e-mailed to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday.

The stakeholders said that the budgetary allocation, which was in line with the Maputo and Malabo Declarations on agriculture and food security, would boost the realisation of the benchmarks of the two Declarations for agricultural investment.

They also said that buffer funds from sources such as Natural Resource Funds and Climate Resource Funds might also be considered, given the strategic importance of the agricultural sector.

They called on federal and state ministries of agriculture as well as National Assembly Committees on Agriculture to monitor the execution of agricultural projects itemised in national budgets, using an adapted Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) results measurement framework.

The stakeholders, however, recommended that in the 2018 agriculture budget, the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme should be retained, while the budget should be increased to address the inputs gaps experienced by small-scale farmers, especially women.

They said that for agriculture budgeting and other policymaking processes in 2018 and subsequent years, a strategy should be developed to involve and mainstream the concerns of small-scale farmers.

“For example, leaders of women farmers’ organisations and other smallholder farmers, vulnerable groups such as farmers living with disabilities, and civil society organisations (CSOs) should be invited to budget preparatory meetings before the release of Budget Call Circulars.’’

The stakeholders stressed that agriculture budget for 2018 and subsequent years should be gender-sensitive and responsive by providing line items that addressed specific challenges which affected women farmers different from men, while avoiding the fusion of the budget for women farmers and other groups such as youths.

They, nonetheless, underscored the need for the government to review all the unclear budget lines in the capital and recurrent aspects of the budget for clarity, appropriate size, efficiency and economy; adding that all inappropriate line items should be expunged or amended.

As regards farming machines, the stakeholders said that instead of importing large machines, tangible efforts should be made to invest more in locally fabricated simple farming machines, which small-scale farmers could easily access and manage.

They also underscored the need for the 2018 budget for agriculture and rural development to conform to the goals of the Agricultural Production Policy (APP) and the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the Federal Government.

“The existing Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework should be improved upon to align the APP monitoring, in line with the CAADP Results Framework and National Agricultural Investment Plan (NAIP),’’ they said.

They urged the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the state Ministries of Agriculture and other MDAs should create a budget line to sustain the organisation of the stakeholders consultative meeting annually.

“The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should work closely with National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to generate disaggregated agricultural data for sector planning,’’ they added.

NAN reports that the just-concluded stakeholders’ consultative meeting was aimed at generating discourse on the themes of the government’s agricultural policy, while facilitating citizens’ inputs into the proposed 2018 Agriculture Budget.

May 25, 2017
Painful debt service: Fed Govt refinances debts

Actions reminiscent of the Nigeria’s debt forgiveness era is playing out as the federal government has decided to refinance the nation’s debts.

Addressing journalists at the end of the launch of the regional economic outlook for sub-Saharan Africa in Abuja Tuesday, the minister of finance Mrs Kemi Adeosun disclosed that “government is refinancing debts with short term maturity to match tenure of projects. Our problem is debt servicing which is too high. The amount of interest is significant.”

The reason for refinancing the nation’s debts she said is because the government was servicing the nation’s debts faster than it is using the money to deliver on the projects the monies were meant for.

According to Adeosun, “our revenue is too low that is the problem. We are working hard to address this. The solution is not that we are borrowing too much but that our revenue mobilization has to be improved.”

On his part, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele described the impact of the apex bank’s forex intervention as positive “because more businesses are now able to access forex which will lead to more productivity.”

The CBN governor also noted that the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the government “has bold plans both Monetary and Fiscal authorities are committed to to ensuring its success.”

Another issue which got significant attention during the launch of the economic outlook was the issue of Non-Performing Loans (NPL). Speaking on this issue, Emefiele said the CBN was “working very hard to address NPL to get back to levels set by regulatory authorities.”

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) coordinated report on Sub-Saharan Africa economic outlook projected a modest growth for the continent at 2.6% in 2017.

Three countries -Nigeria, Angola and South Africa – the continent’s largest economies were tipped as countries that will contribute about three quarters of the region’s expected growth.

The forecast, including other draw backs that held down the sub-sahara region from growing at fastest economic pace, were contained in the IMF regional report on Africa unveiled yesterday in Abuja, first time the report was launched in any Africa nation.

The IMF Director (African Department) Mr Abebe Aemro Selassie, projected Nigeria’s growth at 0.8% post-recession. “The 0.8% forecast growth, he said is conditional and premised on “a higher oil production subject to, if peace in the Niger Delta can be maintained- and strong agricultural production”.

The report observed that growth in sub-Saharan Africa remains fragile as growth was slowed considerably in 2016.

“In 2016, growth slowed in about two-thirds of the countries in the region, accounting for 83% of regional GDP- and is estimated to have reached just 2% . This marked the region’s worst performance in more than two decades. Even the modest rebound to 2% expected in 2017 will be to a large extent driven by one- off factors in the three largest countries- a recovery in oil production in Nigeria, higher public spending ahead of election in Angola, and the fading of drought effects in South Africa”.

To correct the economic imbalance bedeviling the sub region, the report called for “urgent policy action to address macroeconomic imbalance in resource intensive countries, and to preserve existing momentum elsewhere.”

Responding, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun said “we have tried to mitigate these pressure through series of interventions , such as growing the non- oil sector base through increased efficiency of tax and customs collections, reduced cost of doing business , support for agriculture, infrastructure and manufacturing as well as reflating the economy through special fiscal support to sub nationals among several measures”.

May 9, 2017