Lack of implementation, political will inhibit national planning – Senate

Lack of political will by past administrations to adequately implement policies statements are among factors responsible for poor planning resulting in socio-economic retrogression

The Senate on Thursday affirmed this, stating that failure to implement national plans and economic visions since 1999 is responsible for Nigeria’s underdevelopment. 

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This was as it accepted that failure to legislate and oversight ministries, departments and agencies of government were responsible for unreported cases of abandoned projects amounting to trillions across the country.

The Senate, therefore, resolved to organise a roundtable to be headed by its committee on National Planning but will involve those of Finance and Appropriation.

The committees are to invite all stakeholders in the budgeting process to look at the issues that will guide future development. 

Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, who presided over the plenary said the Senate Committee on National Planning will lead others in organizing the round table. 

Omo-Agege said just listening to the debate on the motion, he came to a conclusion that Nigeria does not lack ideas, insisting that the country has resources but added that there should be political will. 

The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Sen Stella Oduah (Anambra North) on the need to establish a visionary budget-driven national planning framework for Nigeria.  Stella had prayed that the Senate should mandate it’s committees on Appropriations, National Planning and Finance, to conduct a thorough review of Nigeria’s budgeting practices as well as the national planning process, with a view to creating a more synergized and collaborative system that is both effective and efficient. 

The senate was “concerned that despite incremental growth in the nation’s nominal GDP and gross national income (GNI) over the years, the average Nigerian has experienced little or no change to their socio-economic status. Some have even experienced a retrogressive impact on their lives in recent years. 
“Nigeria has been dubbed ”the poverty capital of the world” with 47.7 per cent of the population, with figures as high as 94,734,000 (ninety-four million, seven hundred and thirty-four thousand) as at November 2020. 1/3 of the nation’s children are never enrolled in school and Nigeria currently has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS-related deaths in the world.

“Convinced that there is an urgent need to identify and eliminate the obstacles that have posed a problem to the successful conceptualization and implementation of previous national development plans in Nigeria, ahead of the next generation of national plans”.

While briefing the members of the Senate Press Corps after plenary, Stella said the motion seek to ensure a visionary budget that will properly work for the people.

She said budgeting and national planning have to be in tandem in line with global best practices and in line with the aspirations and demands of Nigerians. 

“It’s about having a proper circle for the budgeting process so that we don’t have a gab with proper planning as the key player,” Stella said adding that the round table discussion will help the players to talk about the budgeting plan in line with the administration goals regardless of party. 

She said if the policy is adopted, it will help even at the state and the local government level where a policy will guide and enforce on a particular project based on the administration’s policy. 
She said there should be a penalty for non-compliance of such policy to help plan the growth and development of the country, insisting that Nigerian’s underdevelopment was not about lack of money, but that there was no proper planning and enforcement.