The National Economic Council has set up a committee of Governors from the six geo political zones to work with the Council on the nation’s industrialisation bid. A statement signed by the Special Senior Assistant to the Vice President on Media Mr. Laolu Akande on the outcome of the National Economic Council Meeting said that “After presentation was made to the Council by the Minister of Industry Trade and Investment “a committee of Governors from the nation’s six geo-political zones was formed to work with the Council in order to get the States actively involved in the national industrialisation effort by receiving and reviewing recommendations of the Council and fashioning out how best to implement them.
Governors are those of Kaduna, Kwara, Ogun, Abia, Edo and Adamawa. The Kaduna State Governor will chair the Committee.
He said that “the Council had received a presentation on the work of the recently inaugurated Advisory Council that has top private sector and public sector officials, and industry chieftains as members. The Council is chaired by Prof. Osinbajo and has the mandate to identify key and practical areas where both public and private sectors can work together to significantly accelerate Nigeria’s industrial drive.
The minister he said informed the Council that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the establishment of NIPCAC in March 2017 as a vehicle for partnering with the private sector to drive Nigeria’s industrialisation agenda. Giving the Council an update on the work of NIPCAC, the Minister said NIPCAC has identified eight critical areas requiring urgent government intervention to move the country’s industrialisation to the next level. These include improving broadband penetration nationwide; resolving the nagging issue of multiple taxation; facilitating access to land; Providing security to investments; Standardising regulatory requirements; facilitating interacted business linkages; collaborating on project development and maintenance; providing shared facilities.
Informing the Council that the key role private sector plays in the telecom sector has committed to deploy an additional 18,000km of fibre cables nationwide over the next 12 – 18 months, the Minister prayed the Council to, among others, approve the following: harmonisation of right of way charges on state and local government highways with the Federal Government, which currently charges N145/m; improve access to fibre installation across the States; adopt the 2015 approved list of taxes and levels; discontinue the use of unorthodox means of collection; fast track automation of the entire tax administration and process to eliminate leakages and ensure ease of payment.
Others are set up a single collection point for states and local government’s fees and levels; develop a digitised land acquisition system; establish a peer review Committee on industrialisation ranking of all States of the Federation. He said that the Council decided that a Committee of Governors be set up to receive and review recommendations from the Advisory Council. The Council also nominated 6 State Governors to be members of the Committee representing the six geopolitical zones to work with the NIPCAC in order to advance the course of national industrialisation and competitiveness.
He also said that the Minister of Finance Mrs Kemi Adeosun said that the balance in the excess crude account amount to $2.309 billion. Briefing the National Economic Council on the status of the account the minister “informed the Council that the balance in the Excess Crude Account as at 16th October, 2017 stands at $2,309,636,457.88 billion.
She said that there was no budget support loan facility for last month to any State, because the FAAC was in excess of N600 billion. It has been agreed that beyond that threshold there will be no budget support loan facility.
He said the Accountant General of the Federation while briefing the Council on the current balances in the Stabilisation Fund told Council that the balance in the Stabilisation Fund Account as at 16th October, 2017 stands at N5.853 billion. He also informed Council that the balance in the Natural Resources Development Account as at 16th October, 2017 stands at N93,114,896,509.12 billion.
According to Laolu “both the Federal and State governments have agreed to work together to forge a common front in the nation’s bid for industrialisation. This was one of the highlights at the National Economic Council meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, earlier today at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa.
