By SADIQ ABUBAKAR, Maiduguri –
The Secretary to the Borno State Government (SSG), Alhaji Usman Jidda Shuwa has said that the state and the entire North East region is confronted with daunting security challenges that required the immediate attention of the Federal Government.
According to him, the most daunting of these challenges, is the issue of insecurity, largely characterized by the seemingly unending Boko Haram insurgency and the emergent criminal activities of banditry and kidnapping as well as socio-economic threats, such as mass unemployment, youth restiveness and deep rooted poverty.
Alhaji Shuwa stated this on Tuesday, while declaring open, the 3-day 20th Edition of the Meetings of the Joint Planning Board (JPB) of the National Council on Development Planning (NCDP) Meetings which was organized by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning (FMFBNP) in collaboration with the Borno State Ministry of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning (MFBEP).
NATIONAL ACCORD reports that the programme has the theme: “Managing the Nigerian Economy for Sustainable Development in a Challenging Environment”.
The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN as Guest of Honour/ Chairman, National Council on Development Planning (NCDP) is expected on Thursday while the Minister of France, Budget and National Planning, Dr. Hajiya Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed is also expected to lead a National Council on Development Planning meeting on Thursday for a communique.
The SSG also said that obviously, the challenges were multifaceted and varied, both in scope and depth which equally have the same devastating effect on the socio-economic and political landscape of the country.
He noted that the negative effect of insecurity is widespread and all-encompassing and has not only adversely affected economic growth at the macro level but has also completely devastated the economic live-wire of the people at the local level such as farming, petty trading and inter- state commercial activities, among others.
” Added to these is the excruciating phenomenon of Covid-19, which has an emasculating and crippling effect on the overall global economic system. All these challenges have to be profoundly addressed and systematically overcome in order for any strategic plans to have any meaningful and tangible impact on the socio-economic development of the country.
” And it requires the concerted efforts and unwavering determination of both the Federal and State Governments as well as other critical stakeholders, to collectively strategise and come up with viable and implementable measures to effectively address the challenges of development in an all-encompassing and sustainable way”, Jidda Shuwa said.
“This meeting of the Joint Planning Board and the National Council on Development planning provides a veritable avenue for highlighting most of the daunting challenges, the institutional inadequacies and other appalling socio-economic and political encumbrances that have been considerably affecting the growth and development of the country, with a view to evolving a pragmatic and viable system to chart the way forward.
“This will also help in stimulating and sustaining public confidence and trust in the ability of governments at all levels to address the challenges of development”, he said.
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Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Olashola Olayinka Idowu said on Zoom that the theme was appropriately and deliberately chosen as a result of the daunting challenges Borno state is facing and the country at large.
She commended Governor Zulum for his support to the meetings, noting that, the theme will chart a way forward for national. Economic development and growth as the participants are expected to come out with a concrete, formidable and sustainable solutions towards repositioning the economy in the areas of health, education, security, agriculture, economic and poverty reduction among others.
The Perm Sec, further, urged the state governments to prioritise poverty reduction or alleviation projects and programmes and collaborate with the federal government for the Implementation of the 20th Joint Planning Board to fast-Track resource development.
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