The Vice President, Architect Mohammed Namadi Sambo, has said that linking the oil revenues with the diversification of the economy is a sine-qua-non for the growth and development of Northern Nigeria.
Speaking at a public lecture organised by the Arewa Consultative Forum in Kaduna State, Sambo said: “The Northern region and other parts of the country require the articulation and effective implementation policies that will ensure effective exploitation of our natural and human resources for the transformation of the region.
“This can only be achieved within the context of strategic development planning.”
He said the theme of the lecture: “Northern Nigeria Economy Free of Oil Revenues,” is most appropriate as according to him, the development of the Northern Region Economic Development Agenda will not be a difficult exercise, given that all the states within the northern region have already articulated their individual Vision documents.”
Sambo noted that what was left is the identification of areas of complimentary projects and programmes with a view to strengthening synergy among states as this will allow states within the region to benefit from economic of scale in areas such as agriculture, infrastructure, especially power, irrigation and transportation.
He said at the national level, a long term strategic development blueprint tagged: “Vision 20:2020,” had already been articulated as a homegrown agenda for stimulating economic growth, diversifying the economy away from oil and launching the country onto the path of sustainable and rapid economic development.
He stated that the administration has remained committed to a sustained improvement of the economic management of the country that has impacted positively on the performance of the Northern region and the country at large, adding that at the macroeconomic level, the economy has remained resilient with a robust GDP growth averaging seven per cent within the period 2011 to 2013 driven by the non-oil sector despite the flooding in several parts of the country in 2012 and a decline of inflation rate from 12.0 per cent in 2012 to eight per cent in 2013.
The VP said: “According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Investments, Nigeria was the highest recipient of FDI inflows into Africa and the administration was committed to reviving the agricultural sector which will provide job opportunities for millions of dry season farmers in the North and will attract over 750,000 young Nigerians into Agribusiness.”
He also noted the government’s intervention programmes such as YouWin, which has created 18,000 jobs, the SURE-P with 120,000 job opportunities, adding that transportation sector has also received a boost with 79 road projects spread across the three geopolitical zones of the North.
Sambo also noted the resurgence of activities in the water resources sector with dams being resuscitated and new ones constructed; the boost in the power sector with both hydro and thermal plants being built to enhance electricity supply and education sector with the construction of 125 Almajiri schools in the North; as well as the ‘Saving One Million Lives programme in the health sector, which the administration has articulated, and 11,300 frontline health workers recruited across the country.
Earlier, the Chairman, Board of Patrons of the ACF and former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, inaugurated the new leaders of the Arewa Consultative Forum and thanked the immediate past leaders, who, according to Gowon, were delivering on the promises of the founding fathers of the organization.
Gowon said this promises were the unwavering commitment to the pursuit of peaceful co-existence in the North and in the country and cautioned that the noble objectives of the founding fathers cannot possibly come to pass when there is proliferation of elders’ groups in the region claiming to speak for the same North which ACF was founded. He however was optimistic that the country will overcome its challenges, urging Nigerians to come together and unleash their synergy against the security challenges and other social malaise, be it Boko Haram, kidnapping, ethno-religious crisis, etc.
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