Nigeria inaugurates panel on medium term development plan
By Tanko Mohammed
Nigeria’s Ministry of Budget and National Planning (MBNP) has inaugurated Technical Working Groups (TWGs) for the Medium Term National Development Plan (MTNDP) for 2021 to 2025.
The MBNP Minister of State, Prince Clem Agba, while inaugurating the technical committee, said the MTNDP 2021 would succeed Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017 to 2020.
“These initiatives are designed to succeed the current Nigeria vision 2020 and the ERGP respectively.
“The plans are to address developmental challenges in all aspects of the country’s national life within the agreed time frame,” he said.
Agba said the committee was categorised into three groups namely: Human capital and natural resources; Infrastructure, business environment, trade and technology; as well as Agriculture, water resources and cross cutting issues on Technical Working Groups (TWGs) for the development of Nigeria agenda 2050 and the MTNDP.
He said the ministry had agreed on the economic models to be used including econometrics and input-output models for the preparation of macroeconomic framework for the MTNDP 2021 to 2025.
He added that dynamic computable general equilibrium and system dynamic based integrated sustainable development goals simulation models would be used for Nigeria agenda 2050.
Agba said that they had inaugurated the macroeconomic and growth diagnostic thematic group, whom were already working on the macro framework.
“ The inauguration of the TWGs became imperative given the fact that the existing plans are expected to lapse in December 2020 and the 2021 budget is to be guided by the plan.
“There is limited time to deliver on the task at hand,” he said.
Agba said that the ministry has selected team members of the group based on their wealth of experience, expertise and dedication to national assignment over the years to assist in putting together implementable successor plans.
The minister said that the committee was expected to review existing plans, policies, programmers and projects in thematic area among others.
The Chairman of the group one, Mr Niyi Ajao, said that the group members were glad for finding them worthy to be members of the committee.