Babangida Aliyu says effective planning is fundamental in economic development

MINNA (National Planning Commission) – The Governor of Niger State, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu has described effective planning as the foundation of development in any society, saying with adequate security in Nigeria, the country will continue to develop at a very fast pace.

Babangida Aliyu said this while declaring open the 2014 Conference of Directors of Planning, Research and Statistics (PRS) in the Public Service in Minna, Niger State with the theme: “Socioeconomic Reforms for Inclusive and Trans-formative Development in Nigeria.”

The Governor informed delegates that Niger State has provided the institutional framework for proper planning by establishing the State Bureau of Statistics as well as the Niger State Planning Commission to provide the platform for meaningful planning and implementation of developmental programmes.  He indicated that since Niger State has arable land as well as water in abundance, the State is encouraging the private sector to come and engage in large scale mechanised and commercial farming with a view to boosting the economy of the State so that by 2020, the State will be among the top three in the federation, economically.

In her own remarks, the Special Adviser to the President on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Fidelia Akuabata Njeze noted that the theme of the conference is well thought out. Adding, considering its relevance to the Transformation Agenda of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the topic is in tandem with the core objectives of NEPAD which focuses on poverty eradication, women empowerment, promotion of socioeconomic growth and development as well as good governance.

Fidelia Njeze noted that the enormous development challenges confronting Nigeria presently can only be addressed through the socio-economic reforms for enhanced collaboration and partnership which the conference platform provides. She further said that development challenges are the overarching objectives of Nigeria’s inclusive and transformation development, otherwise called development effectiveness; describing it as the ability to achieve results that positively impact on people and society in a sustainable way and   strengthens their capacity to manage and promote human well-being.

She added that in Nigeria, the objective would be achieved through proper coordination of all the policies relevant for the socioeconomic development of the country.

While presenting the keynote address on the occasion, the Supervising Minister, who is the Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission, Bashir Yuguda told the conference that the key challenge as a nation is the question whether development is inclusive.   He inferred that while re-basing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria, the country is simply the biggest nation in terms of economy in Africa at the moment.

“We were the 36th nation in the world before the re-basing and after the re-basing we got to the 26th position which means that we are getting towards achieving our Vision 2020. But, the challenge that is before all of us here as planners and researchers is how to make the economy inclusive, create jobs and make sure that everybody benefits from it,” he said.
 
The Minister expressed belief that after the conference, stakeholders should be able to task themselves on what should be done; averring that in the process of doing this the national and sub-national governments have to come up with reforms and plans.

He further identified the Conference of Directors of Planning, Research and Statistics (PRS) in the Public Service as an annual event jointly organized by the National Planning Commission, the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Nigeria and the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs.