The National Economic Council ( NEC) on Thursday appealed to organised labour to shelve planned strike action scheduled to begin on the 3rd of October.
The Council, Chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima and made up of Governors of the 36 States and FCT, however, expressed concerns about the current situation in the country and resolved to engage with Labour leadership at the State level.
Governor Caleb Mutfwang, of Plateau State, while briefing on the resolutions of the 136 meeting of NEC, at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, disclosed that NEC mandated each state to continue to engage with Labour leadership in all the State.
NEC, a statutory body that has the mandate to advise the President on the nation’s economic affairs, is chaired by the Vice President, with the Governors of the 36 states of the federation, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Minister of Finance and other stakeholders as members.
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In his opening address at the NEC meeting titled, ‘Planning for Stability: Our Agenda for Economic Growth in 2024’, Vice President Shetimma reminded the governors and other members of NEC that the weight of the tough decisions to rescue Nigeria’s economy depends on their cooperation and goodwill.
He noted that what has set President Bola Ahmed Tinubu apart as a Nigerian leader is the courage to embark on fixing the country’s economy through bold reforms.
Identifying stability as a major priority in next year’s economic agenda, Shetima said, “It took courage to fix an economy hindered by decades of political lip service. But that has set President Bola Ahmed Tinubu apart: his bold reforms to reposition the economy and save it from further erosion.
The Governor of Kogi State and chairman of the Committee on Impact of Flood and Disaster Across the States in Nigeria, Yahaya Bello, categorized states based on degrees of damage.
He classified the states based on the number of flood-affected areas.
States with over 15 points, listed as the most affected, include Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Rivers, Enugu, Kano, Oyo, Yobe, Zamfara
He also listed States with 10-15 points to include Cross River, Delta, Jigawa, Kwara, Ondo
States with less than 10 points include Katsina, Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, FCT.
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Also speaking on the distribution of palliatives to Nigerians, Governor Dikko Raddar said NEC members have so far received N2b from the federal government, adding that the Council has charged each member state to redouble efforts in the distribution of palliatives to Nigerians.
NEC resolved to develop a roadmap for intervention and directed NEMA to provide immediate intervention on relief to affected states—a roadmap to be developed and articulated by NEC with the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum.
On energy sufficiency, NEC called the government at all levels to promote the migration of Heavy-Duty Industries/Transport systems from fossil fuel to Gas Infrastructure;
“Given the new Electricity Act that empowers States and individuals to participate in all components of the energy sector, State Governments should conduct energy audits to determine Energy needs and explore areas for collaboration with the private sector based on their comparative advantage.
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“ States should develop small hydropower plants, on or off-grid, and solar, for communities and MSMEs. The three tiers of Government should institute initiatives to promote attitudinal change regarding energy use, wastage, and theft; and v. The government should promote Research and development, Local Content, New Energy (Hydrogen, Biofuels) Prototype Investments for energy sufficiency.
The chairman of the Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, presented to the NEC on the fiscal policy and Tax Reforms, disclosing that President Bola Tinubu set up the Committee to review and redesign Nigeria’s fiscal system concerning mobilisation, both tax and non-tax! Quality of government spending and
Others include
Other include Sustainable debt management. In addition, the committee will identify relevant measures to make Nigeria an attractive destination for investment and facilitate inclusive Economic growth.
The expected outcomes from the work of the committee will include, but are not limited to, the repeal of existing taxes and levies, especially those that are suboptimal, obsolete or unduly burdensome and the enactment of new harmonised tax laws; Preparation of a coordinated list of taxes and levies, not exceeding a single digit in a number and covering all levels of government; review of the 2017 National Tax Policy to produce a new National Policy on Tax and Fiscal Policy for ratification by the federal and state governments.
Others include a review of the national fiscal risk framework for efficient fiscal governance, fiscal consolidation and stability;
The policy will also lead to the development of draft bills for constitutional amendments on fiscal matters to promote fiscal federalism, Enhancements to the revenue administration system to improve revenue mobilization and a robust framework for tax revenue accounting and reporting to improve taxpayer trust, as well as Establishment of National Office of Tax Ombudsman, Fiscal Policy and Tax Simplification.
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