Post- Petrol Subsidy Removal : Gov AbdulRazaq Heads Committee That ‘ll Come Up With Strategies To ‘Handle’ Issues
Ahead of the yuletide, Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged members of the National Economic Council (NEC) to shelve the idea of embarking on vacation and rather carry on with issues of governance in order to ease the burden of Nigerians hanging on their shoulders.
He has also told the Council members to be alive to the demands of Nigerians noting that , ‘as the year draws to a close, none of us in this chamber should think of embarking on a vacation. I tend to think so because upon our shoulders rests the weight of responsibilities from which we cannot escape. We are returning to be judged by the promises we made to be here’ .
Shettima ,who said this on Thursday during the 138th meeting of NEC which was held virtually, added that his principal, President Ahmed Bola Tinubu has shown that the challenges inherited by his administration are surmountable, offered visionary leadership and presented a coherent development plan to aid the country’s pursuit of order, abundance, and stability.
‘Each of us owes constituents the scorecard of stewardship in these few months of translating ideas into tangible actions. That’s why we can’t afford to fail, and the new year must be, for us, a time to reflect on how we have fared so far and what we must do differently to keep the hope of the nation alive’ the Vice President submitted.
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Apparently keen about getting results of the government’s ongoing reforms in good time, the VP emphasized the need for the citizens to feel the positive impact of fuel subsidy removal and forex unification, noting that high inflation and cost of living are global challenges that have affected the economies of all countries.
A statement issued in Abuja by Stanley Nkwocha, who is Shettima’s Senior Special Assistant on Media & Communications, noted that the VP also said this should be considered as enough ‘inspiration for us to come together and tackle ours through realistic interventions’.
In the meanwhile, following deliberations on critical economic matters and assessments of potential short-term, medium and long-term strategies for addressing pressing economic issues, the NEC has set up committees on Economic Affairs, as well as the committee on Crude Oil Theft And Management.
Both committees are to be headed by Kwara state governor, Alh AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, and his Imo state counterpart, former Senator Hope Uzodimma, respectively.
The Economic Matters committee to be chaired by Kwara state governor, AbdulRazaq AbdulRahman, is saddled with the task of preparing a clear roadmap for dealing with removal of petrol subsidy, including a framework for defending wage negotiations, exchange rate management and fiscal consolidation sustainability, liquidity management and inflation, medium term investment and growth, fiscal transparency and accountability, as well as state of emergency on food production for 2024.
Members of the committee include the Gombe state governor, representing North East; governor of Lagos (South West); the governor of Akwa Ibom (South-South); the governor of Anambra (South East); the governor of Niger (North Central), and governor of Kaduna (North West) while Rukaiya El-Rufai, the president’s Special Adviser on NEC and Climate Change will serve as Secretary.
The committee on Crude Oil Theft and Management, an existing NEC committee, has also been reconstituted with Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo state as the new chairman.
Other members are the governor of Ogun state representing South West; the governor of Plateau state (North Central); the governor of Rivers (South-South), governor of Borno (North East); governor of Jigawa State (North West); the governor of Abia state (South East); Minister of Budget and Economic Planning; Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy; CBN Governor; GCEO of NNPCL, NDDC Chairman, and Service Chiefs.
The Secretariat will be domiciled at the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning while the president’s Special Adviser on Economic Matters, Dr Tope Fasua will serve on the committee.
Council also received an update on account balances as at 31st October 2023. The Excess Crude Account as at 31st October, 2023 stood at $473,754.57, while the Stabilization Account was N32,063,186,474.96 during the same period. Development Of Natural Resources Account as at 31st October 2023 stood at N156,770,745,529.74-Team@orientactualmags.com Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08059100286, 09094171980. Thank you
