Home FEATURES Recession: Buhari Challenges His Ministers To Think-Out-Of-The-Box, At A retreat

Recession: Buhari Challenges His Ministers To Think-Out-Of-The-Box, At A retreat

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President Muhammadu Buhari has challenged his ministers and other stakeholders to think-out-of-the-box in order to lead Nigeria out of the present recession.

The President, who spoke at a ministerial retreat on economy and budget, held at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja today, Thursday said: “the challenges we face in the current recession require ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking, to deploy strategies that involve engaging meaningfully with the private sector, to raise the level of private sector investment in the economy as a whole.”

The theme of the retreat is: “Building Inter-ministerial Synergy for Effective Planning and Budgeting in Nigeria,” which President Buhari said is very apt and timely, “especially as we are in the process of developing the 2017 Budget.”

The President recalled that over the years, there had been a mismatch between planned targets and budgetary outcomes at the National and sectorial levels.

He said that the Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), have not also benefited significantly from working together and building consensus around common national objectives, a situation which he said had has impeded growth and development of the country.

“It is in this context that this Retreat has been designed to discuss issues around the State of the Economy and build consensus amongst Cabinet Members and top Government officials.  The Retreat will also serve as an opportunity to have a general overview of the economy and discuss the framework for the 2017 Budget, its key priorities and deliverables.”

The President said that the retreat is coming at a critical time in our economic history, when the Nigerian economy is in a recession, with significant downturn in performance in various sectors.

“It is with regard to the importance of this Retreat that I decided to sit through the first part of the session to listen to the views from experienced economists and development experts on how best to implement our plans to rid the country of its oil dependence and to diversify the economy and bring the country out of the current economic recession.

“This is in line with our Administration’s determination to lay a solid foundation for growth and development as outlined in the Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) of our Change Agenda.

“Given that this Retreat is a lead-up to the 2017 Budget, my expectation is that we will come out of the these sessions with a determination and common position on how to have improved synergy amongst the various Ministries and Departments for the effective formulation and implementation of the 2017 Budget.

“I also trust that the breakout sessions will enable you to discuss extensively amongst yourselves, the details of the four sub-themes and come up with practical solutions on the way forward in order to come out with a set of prioritized projects and programmes that will fit into the 2017 Budget. [myad]