Senate probes FG’s economic recovery plan

The senate has directed six of its committees to probe the federal government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

The committees mandated to look into the ERGP are national planning, banking, marine transport, land transport, works, and power.

Members of the committees are expected to meet with Zainab Ahmed, finance minister.

The ERGP was a medium term plan for 2017 to 2020, and it was developed to restore Nigeria’s economy after the country recorded negative growth in 2016.

The upper legislative chamber took the decision to probe the recovery plan on Tuesday, after Abdu Suleiman Kwari, senator representing Kaduna north, sponsored a motion.

While moving his motion, Kwari noted that the plan did not meet objectives as to why it was formulated.

“The key objectives of the plan were to increase our national productivity, achieve sustainable diversification of production, significantly grow our economy by 7 percent by the year 2020, maximise the welfare of our citizens and attain food and energy security,” the senator said.

“We are worried that the four-year plan, which has now elapsed, cannot be said to have met our desired socio-economic aspiration.

“There is the need for stock-taking to critically assess the performance of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan in order to ascertain whether the plan has met the desired goals now that it has technically come to an end.

“In taking stock, it is imperative to benchmark the implementation outcomes of the plan in terms of the following indices to determine: real growth in the agricultural, solid minerals and energy sectors of the economy; SMEs growth as laid out in the plan; and positive impact on our industries and manufacturing sectors.”

The motion was adopted after Senate President Ahmad Lawan put it to a voice vote.

The committees have four weeks to lay a joint report on the probe in plenary.