Osinbajo in Ebonyi, urges Nigerians to brace up for more economic challenges

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has called on Nigerians to brace up to more economic challenges that may face the country in the future.

Osinbajo stated this in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, during the 21st editon of the council on development planning which he said has remained an important platform for setting the tone of national development and opportunity for federal and state governments to fashion out active collaboration for the well-being of the people.

He called for synergy among all tiers of government now that the country continues to face the challenges of the onslaught of COVID-19 pandemic, which he said had been compounded by the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

According to him: “We must brace ourselves to collectively respond to the inevitable economic challenges that will occur and some which are already occuring.

“Let me use this opportunity to congratulate the council, federal ministry of finance, budget and national planning, federal and state MDAs and all stakeholders and indeed the private sector and the civil society for the sterling work that has been done in articulation a national development plan 2021-2025.

“The strategic objective of the national development plan include establishing a strong foundation for a diversified economy, investing in infrastructure, improving government and stamping out insecurity, all of which would contribute to achieving our national development aspirations.

“The content of the plan is as important as the process that which it was developed. And I find the extensive deliberations and contributions to fashion a medium term blueprint. But the implementation of the plan is the crux of the matter and this speaks of the relevance to the theme of the meeting ‘Good Governance and Institutional Capacity: Pathways to Sustainable National Development.’

“The question I am sure some of us asked ourselves is that why country with huge natural and human resources still developed slowly and have greater number of poverty than other less endowed society or country without resources at all like South Korea and Singapore. Why do they still perform better than than the resourceful country of the world?

“I think most of the surveys conducted show that there is lack of good governance and weak institutional capacity that largely account for the difference.

“How public institutions functions is of course an approach determined by institutional capacity. But this is not merely having a merely educated and well motivated workforce. But a system that can enforce transparency and accountability. You must have a system that can deliver on transparency and accountability.”

Osinbajo, during the visit, also commissioned projects in the state including 25 bridges, roads, Ecumenical Centre, shopping mall, among others.