• Targets food affordability, tax harmonisation, others
•FG charges 36 governors to improve living conditions
•Tinubu: We’ll use Nigeria’s gas resources to create jobs, boost earnings
•Firm set to unlock Escravos-Lagos pipeline’s 2.3bn cubic feet capacity
Deji Elumoye in Abuja
The Shettima-led National Economic Council (NEC), yesterday endorsed a 90-day economic action plan proposed by the federal Ministry of Finance to ease the cost of living, improve food affordability, attract investment and accelerate projects with direct benefits for Nigerians.
This came as the federal government charged state governors to translate the gains of President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms into better living conditions for their citizens.
The council also approved a national dashboard to track ongoing projects across the federation, with particular emphasis on transparency, accountability and accurate reporting on the utilisation of proceeds from fuel subsidy removal.
The decisions followed a presentation by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, at NEC’s 161st meeting, held virtually and chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
The 90-day plan identified five priority areas, including food affordability, tax harmonisation, completion of high-impact projects, resolution of investment bottlenecks and regulated household support.
Presenting the economic outlook, Oyedele expressed optimism about the progress recorded under the Tinubu administration’s reform programme and the prospects for further recovery. He identified reducing headline inflation and interest rates to single digits by 2027 as key policy objectives, stressing that the next phase of reforms would require coordinated implementation across federal and state institutions.
The presentation focused on translating macroeconomic improvements into measurable benefits for households and businesses through targeted interventions, improved fiscal coordination and the removal of barriers to investment.
Also addressing council members, Shettima charged governors and relevant government institutions to ensure that the gains of the reforms translated into affordable transportation, improved healthcare, employment opportunities and greater financial security for Nigerians.
He said the success of economic policies must ultimately be measured by their impact on citizens’ daily lives, rather than announcements of reforms, adding that the government must build institutions that enable Nigerians to plan their futures with confidence.
“The first dividend of prosperity should be the confidence to plan a life. Our task is to make such confidence less dependent on fortune,” he said.
According to him, the council’s deliberations on transportation, healthcare, police reform and livestock development represented critical decisions about the quality of life Nigerians should expect from economic progress.
“Our separate jurisdictions must serve a common public interest,” Shettima said, emphasising that Nigeria’s federal structure must strengthen cooperation rather than become an obstacle to delivering essential services.
On the National Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Bus Initiative, the vice president underscored the need for state governments to support affordable transportation systems that would reduce the financial burden on commuters.
He maintained that the success of the programme should be determined by affordability and accessibility rather than the number of vehicles deployed.
“The cost of reaching a livelihood should never consume the livelihood itself. The passenger’s experience must guide our ambition, because the value of public transport resides in the journeys it makes possible. We should assess success through affordability and access, rather than fleet size alone,” he said.
Shettima maintained that Tinubu’s economic reform programme was designed to achieve broader national prosperity, noting that governments at all levels had a responsibility to translate its objectives into improved living conditions.
“President Bola Tinubu has made economic reform the instrument of a larger national ambition. Our contribution must give that ambition social depth and productive strength.”
He urged governors to bring their understanding of local realities into national policy decisions, insisting that effective implementation required clear responsibilities and practical agreements among the tiers of government.
“Our separate mandates must not become competing excuses. Each Governor carries knowledge that no federal document can supply,” he said.
The vice president challenged council members to assess every policy proposal by its capacity to reduce uncertainty, create opportunities and strengthen public confidence in government.
“Nigerians deserve institutions on which they can organise their lives. Providing that assurance is among the most consequential uses of public authority. That is the assurance we owe them,” Shettima said.
On transportation, NEC received a presentation on the National Affordable CNG Transit Programme from the Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles, Ismaeel Ahmed, and resolved to establish a joint financing framework between the federal and state governments to accelerate the deployment of CNG and electric vehicles.
The council directed that the programme must deliver tangible benefits through reduced transportation costs rather than merely increasing the number of alternative-energy vehicles on the roads.
It further resolved that relevant authorities should engage transport unions and operators to ensure that savings from adopting CNG and electric vehicles were passed on to commuters through lower fares. A committee would be constituted to coordinate the financing arrangement, engage stakeholders and develop measures to make transportation more affordable, accessible and sustainable.
NEC also received updates on the reported Ebola case in the Federal Capital Territory from the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, who assured members that Nigeria had the institutional capacity to contain the infection.
Pate identified coordination and governance, detection at points of entry, laboratory testing capacity, logistics for essential kits and personal protective equipment, and effective strategic communication as critical components of the national response.
He said 21 state governments had updated their response plans and urged the remaining 15 states to expedite the establishment of appropriate preparedness and response mechanisms.
Meanwhile, Tinubu yesterday reaffirmed his determination to unlock Nigeria’s gas resources to power industries, improve electricity supply, create jobs and boost export earnings.
He spoke while receiving the Founder and Chairman of Lee Engineering Group, Chief Leemon Ikpea, at the State House, Abuja, following the indigenous engineering firm’s work on two compressor stations designed to enable the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System to operate at its full capacity of 2.3 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day.
Tinubu reaffirmed his administration’s ‘Nigeria First’ policy and urged international oil companies operating in the country to give competent Nigerian engineering and manufacturing firms greater opportunities to participate in major energy projects.
Lee Engineering is handling the engineering, procurement and construction of two midline compressor stations in Edo State. Although the pipeline’s designed capacity was increased from 1.1 billion to 2.3 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day under the ELPS II expansion, the compressor stations are required to raise operating pressure and enable the pipeline to deliver at its full capacity.
The project is expected to strengthen gas transportation to power plants and industries along the corridor, support increased supplies to neighbouring West African countries through the West African Gas Pipeline and create opportunities for additional export revenue.
Tinubu said the Nigeria First policy must translate into more contracts for capable Nigerian firms, greater use of locally manufactured equipment and more skilled jobs for Nigerians. He encouraged international oil companies to build stronger partnerships with indigenous engineering companies that had demonstrated the capacity to deliver complex projects.
He also pointed to the administration’s 2024 executive orders and presidential directives on local content compliance, contracting costs and approval timelines as measures to attract investment, reduce delays and expand opportunities for Nigerian businesses.
Earlier, Ikpea commended the President’s Nigeria First policy and disclosed that Lee Engineering’s fabrication yard in Warri, Delta State, was manufacturing some components for the compressor stations.
He said the facility housed some of the most advanced fabrication equipment in the industry, adding that Nigerian companies had invested heavily in modern equipment, technology and skilled personnel and could now undertake complex engineering, procurement and construction projects previously handled by foreign contractors.
According to him, the growing capacity of indigenous firms would help retain more jobs, expertise and economic value within Nigeria, having invested heavily in modern equipment, technology and manpower.