President Muhammadu Buhari declared yesterday that there must be a clear-cut line of distinction between politics and development programmes in order to ensure prudent management of the country’s resources at all levels of government.
Speaking when he inaugurated the National Economic Council (NEC) at the council chambers of the presidential villa, Abuja, Buhari also directed members of the council to come up with a roadmap on how to liquidate outstanding salaries and wages across the country.
NEC, which is chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and has the 36 state governors, the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, finance minister and minister of national planning as members, has the constitutional role of advising the President on issues bordering on the nation’s economy.
Stressing on the need for a distinction between politics and governance, the president said: “Our country is one and we who have the responsibility to run it lead by example. As far as is possible there should be distance between politics and development programmes.
“This process must be geared up substantially, especially in the difficult times that we have now found ourselves. The National Planning Commission must continue to work to arrive at workable consensus on government policies among the various tiers of government, which is a prerequisite for sustained growth and development.”
He noted that, while states must be encouraged to embark on projects that will meet the immediate needs of the people.
“I therefore urge council members to consider, as a matter of urgency, exploring efficient means of gradually liquidating all unpaid salaries of staff, which have brought untold hardship to thousands of families.
I would like also, as a former governor myself, to remind us about the need for neighbouring states to cooperate closely on projects such as interstate and feeder roads, soil erosion, desertification and other developmental programmes.
Acknowledging that the task of ensuring growth, job creation and equity would be quite enormous, Buhari told NEC that they must consequently kick-start this process by cultivating a culture of prudent management of resources at all levels of government.
This will entail looking inwards to secure sustainable ways of increasing Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), and harnessing growth potential of each state to supplement the federation account allocation to states.
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