ABUJA (Sundiata Post) – President Bola Tinubu in a surprised move, yesterday, attended the 142nd meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) at the Council Chambers of the State House, Abuja.
NEC, comprising the vice president, governors of the 36 states, the Central Bank of Nigeria governor, the Finance Minister, and other stakeholders is a statutory body mandated to advise the President on the nation’s economic affairs.
The council was expected to deliberate on the issues of the new national minimum wage.
The last Federal Executive Council meeting had deferred the minimum wage discussions until President Tinubu consults with other parties.
The president attendance came against the backdrop of his decision to consult with necessary stakeholders including the state governors, all of whom are members of the council.
He had said he would only submit a new national minimum wage to the national assembly for passage into law after such consultations.
But the briefing after the council meeting was silent on the minimum wage discussion.
According to a statement issued by Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, President Tinubu has approved the immediate rollout of the National Construction and Household Support Programme to cover all geo-political zones in the country, in a bid to boost agricultural productivity, strengthen the economy by creating opportunities in the real sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, and construction, as well as provide urgent economic relief for Nigerians.
The statement added that, under the programme, the Sokoto-Badagry Highway, which will traverse Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos, is prioritised.
Other road infrastructure projects, such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which is underway, and the Trans-Saharan Highway, which links Enugu, Abakaliki, Ogoja, Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa, and Abuja, are also prioritized.
President Tinubu also approved full counterpart financing for Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Railway; to traverse Rivers, Abia, Enugu, Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe and Borno, as well as for the Ibadan-Abuja segment of the Lagos-Kano Standard-Gauge Railway; which will traverse Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Kwara, Niger, Abuja, Kaduna, and Kano.The Sokoto-Badagry road project is specially prioritized for its importance as some of the states it will traverse are strategic to the agricultural sustainability of the nation.
Within the Sokoto-Badagry Highway corridor, there are 216 agricultural communities, 58 large and medium dams spread across six states, seven Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs), 156 local government areas, 39 commercial cities and towns, and over 1 million hectares of arable land.
In addition, other items under the National Construction and Household Support Programme include: One-off allocation to states and the Federal Capital Territory of N10 billion for the procurement of buses and CNG uplift programme; Delivery of N50,000 uplift grant each to 100,000 families per state for three (3) months; Provision for labour unions and civil society organizations and Deployment of N155 billion for the purchase and sale of assorted foodstuff to be distributed across the nation.
Speaking during the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting on Thursday in Abuja, Tinubu urged state governors to work together to meet the needs of citizens, stating that he is willing to provide the needed support to ensure that Nigerians are relieved of hardship.
While emphasising the urgency of boosting food production, the President noted that the Sokoto-Badagry Highway is a pivotal project as the states within this axis form the food belt of the nation, and with Badagry being an important artery for food export.
“Our states must work together to deliver on the critical reforms required of us to meet the needs of our people. Time is humanity’s most precious asset. You can never have enough of it. It is getting late.
“We are ready and able to support you in the form of the mechanization of your agricultural processes and the provision of high-quality seedlings.
“We are prepared to provide solar powered irrigation facilities to support our farmers across seasons, but we must now produce. We must produce the food our people eat, and it will require coordination and intentionality between members of the National Economic Council (NEC).
“There is nothing we are doing that is more important than producing high-quality food for our people to consume, buy, and sell. We create jobs in the production of it. And that is before we generate wealth by exporting the excess. It is not beyond us to achieve this for Nigerians.
“How much support do you need from me and in what form? I am prepared to provide it. But we must achieve the result. We must deliver on our targets at all levels. Please report back following your consultations and submit to my office within seven days,” Tinubu said.
