Federal Government initiates large-scale, palliative construction projects valued at N1 trillion.
On Thursday, President Bola Tinubu granted each state governor seven days to submit practical comments on their strategies to increase food production in their states.
Several deputies and governors of states were present at the 142nd National Economic Council meeting in Abuja’s State House to hear Tinubu’s directive.
In addition, he unveiled the National Construction and Household Support Programme, which will provide 36 states and the FCT N10 billion for compressed natural gas (CNG) buses, as well as three months’ worth of grants to 100,000 families in each state—N50,000 each, N155 billion for food, and N540 billion for housing.
More than N1 trillion will be needed. All told, there will be a total expenditure of N155 billion on food and other items, an allocation of N10 billion for compressed natural gas buses in each of the 36 states and the FCT, and a subsidy of N50,000 for 3.7 million people.
The president expressed his readiness to provide the required support to ease hardship for Nigerians and emphasised the need of growing food production in the nation. He urged state governors to collaborate in addressing citizen requirements.
At every level, we need to meet our objectives. Within seven days of your consultations, please report back and provide your findings to my office.
How can I be of service to you, and how much help do you require? I’d be happy to supply it. However, we need to get the outcome.
Producing high-quality food for our people to eat, purchase, and sell is the most important thing we are doing. During production, we generate employment opportunities. Even before we consider the possibility of making money by selling the surplus, that is a problem. “We can accomplish this for the people of Nigeria,” he declared.
A number of economic crises rocked the nation, and the president’s remarks came after them. Fuel subsidy cuts and currency depreciation drove high inflation to 27% year-on-year in October 2023.
Due to the severe food insecurity and recent price spike, Nigerians are finding it difficult to afford basic essentials.
In spite of major policy changes like the elimination of fuel subsidies and the unification of currency rates, problems like poverty, stagnant per-capita growth, and a poor business climate remain. These problems are made worse by external forces like fluctuations in food prices throughout the world and geopolitical uncertainty.
On Thursday, during the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, Tinubu unveiled new initiatives to increase agricultural output, fortify the economy through the creation of opportunities in the actual agricultural, industrial, and construction sectors, and offer immediate economic relief to the people of Nigeria.
Part of this plan is to launch the nationwide construction and household support programme right away, reaching every region of the country regardless of its political leanings.
According to a statement signed by Mr. Ajuri Ngelale, the program’s special adviser on media and publicity, the Sokoto-Badagry Highway—which will pass through Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos—is the program’s top priority.
The announcement titled “President Tinubu urges governors to meet targets on food security and approves the immediate rollout of the national construction and household support programmes” was made public by the president.
Various other road infrastructure projects are also given priority in the programme. These include the currently under-construction Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Trans-Saharan Highway, which connects Abuja, Kogi, Nasarawa, Abakaliki, Ogoja, Benue, and Kogi.
In addition, Tinubu gave the go-ahead for the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Railway—which will run through several rivers—and the Ibadan-Abuja section of the Lagos-Kano Standard-Gauge Railway—which will run through several states—Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Kwara, Niger, Abuja, Kaduna, and Kano—to name a few.
The Sokoto-Badagry road project, highlighted by Ngelale, will be given special attention by the programme “because of its importance, as some of the states it will traverse are critical to the agricultural sustainability of the nation.”
With over 1 million hectares of arable land, 216 agricultural communities, 58 large and medium dams spread across six states, seven Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones, 156 local government areas, 39 commercial cities and towns, and the Sokoto-Badagry Highway corridor as an example, the Presidency laid out the reasoning behind the project.
Part of the National Construction and Household Support scheme is a one-time contribution of N10 billion to the states and the FCT for the purchase of buses and the CNG uplift scheme, among other things.
Provision for civil society organisations and labour unions; distribution of a three-month uplift grant of fifty thousand Naira to one hundred thousand families in each state.
“The distribution of various foodstuffs across the nation will be facilitated by the deployment of N155 billion.”
First time for Tinubu to attend the National Economic Council meeting, which is typically chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, his deputy.
At Tuesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting, the president decided to step down from the National Minimum Wage Committee’s proposal. This move will allow for more consultations with necessary stakeholders, including the state governors, who are all members of the NEC. As a result, the NEC was expected to deliberate on the new minimum wage.
The president had previously stated that he would hold these discussions before submitting a revised national minimum wage for legislative approval.
After the meeting, council members briefed reporters from the State House, but none of them brought up the minimum wage.
The federal government has authorised a $1 billion agriculture mechanisation programme, which will equip one thousand agro-sector service providers nationwide with tractors, as revealed by the Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari, who joined the governors of Imo, Kano, and Kogi to apprise reporters of the decisions reached.
“No less than 600,000 youths will be employed to man these 1000 service centres, and we will have a minimum of 2,000 tractors per year for the next five years,” he stated.
An deal with John Deere and Tata to provide 2,000 tractors before the year ends is detailed in the complex plan, as pointed out by Kyari. The Federal Executive Council approved the project last Tuesday, and he promised that they will be implemented as quickly as possible.
The Greener Imperative Project, which Kyari claimed was ongoing, is a €950 million undertaking that will reportedly be disclosed soon.
Kyari disclosed that the FG was planning to sign a new contract with Belarus Tractors to purchase 2,000 tractors annually for the following five years, along with 9,000 implements and replacement parts.
Saudi Arabia is interested in importing 200,000 metric tonnes of red meat annually and 1 million tonnes of soya from Nigeria, according to the agriculture minister.
“We met with our entrepreneurs last week, and we have a plan to meet that need.
“We are considering forming partnerships with foreign governments. Our goal is not to solicit investments per se, but rather to seek their advice on what we can produce and sell to you in order to generate foreign exchange,” he further explained.
According to Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, the NEC has asked the subcommittee on crude oil theft to bring forth thorough proposals to put a stop to the problem at the next meeting.
Uzodinma stated that “it was inconclusive” notwithstanding the subcommittee’s scheduled report submission during Thursday’s meeting.
Meanwhile, Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf declared that the Niger Delta Power Holding, which he claimed had been running for some time without a governing board, has now been constituted.
He said that it represents the various geopolitical zones through its composition, which includes the governors of Borno, Katsina, Imo, Ekiti, Kwara, and Akwa Ibom states.
The activation of the Presidential Food Systems coordinating unit, chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, was announced by Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy.