OSINANJO, OKOWA CALLS FOR COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS TO
FIGHT POVERTY
OGHENETEJIRI NYERHOVWO
Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President and SenatorIfeanyi Okowa have
advocated strong collaboration among the three tiers of government in
the fight against poverty in the country.
They made the call at the 18th Joint Planning Board and National
Council on Development Planning meeting in Asaba on Friday, October
11, 2019.
Prof.Osinbajo said that synergy among federal, state and local
governments was imperative so that citizens could be productively
engaged and lifted out of poverty, he also urged States in the county
to improve tax administration and widen tax nets to make it easier for
people to pay taxes and spur development.
The vice president commended the organisers for the theme of the
meeting – State Fiscal Sustainability and Economic Diversification in
Nigeria –, saying it was timely and at the core of governance at all
levels.
According to Prof. Osibanjo, “over the years, the level of funding at the
Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) has fluctuated and
federal revenue, including annual internally-generated revenue cannot
meet the needed development in the states. So, states must overcome
these fiscal challenges that they face by engaging in fiscal strategic
planning and identify areas they have comparative advantages.They
should also take advantage of the entrepreneurial skills of Nigerians by
empowering economic clusters of small businesses with
infrastructure, tools and equipment.”
On his part, Dr. Okowa said that it was imperative for state chief
executives to imbibe the culture of fiscal discipline, pointing out that
without such, there could be no fiscal sustainability.
The Delta State Governor stated that observation of fiscal rules was
the first step to achieving fiscal sustainability, adding that annual
budgets of States must be derived from the Fiscal Strategy Paper in
line with Fiscal Responsibility Law.
According to Dr. Okowa, “in Delta State, we have adhered strictly to
this law and all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are
required to align their projects and programmes with available
resources in short, medium and long term. This will eliminate deficit
and restore the health of our public finances. Most importantly, we
have kept the size of the budget realistic and realisable while projects
are embarked upon based on their economic and social value. It is a
continuous exercise with us to match our expenditure commitments to
projects with existing revenue streams.”
The governor added that citizens in the state were “imbibing the
principles of skills acquisition and entrepreneurship as a viable
employment option based on our entrepreneurship programmes. They
are now looking beyond and outside their academic certificates for
employment and livelihoods as owners and managers of skills-based
enterprises.This cuts across all segments of the society – unemployed
youths, workers, micro, small and medium enterprises, pensioners,
widows, Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), students, traders and
farmers.”
