Taraba lauds FG over 2021-2025 Development Plan
Chima Azubuike, Gombe
Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning Taraba State, Solomon Elisha, has lauded the efforts of Federal Government in ensuring the input of states in development plan of the country.
Elisha made the disclosure on Monday, at a-two day zonal technical meeting on the preparation of the Medium Term National Development Plan (MTNDP), 2021-2025 for North East states, where governor Muhammadu Yahaya opened the session.
The commissioner said states have relevant roles to play in ensuring the plan comes to fruition.
The North East technical meeting involving Gombe, Bauchi, Adamawa, Taraba, and Yobe states mark the end of input from stakeholders across the six geographical zones.
He said, “We want to appreciate the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning for finding it expedient to call for the input of sub nationals in this Medium term plan, once you take away sub nationals you can not have the national. Sub nationals are very expedient and for them to have called for this fora for us to bring in our input is highly appreciated.”
He noted that Taraba has since swayed on the part of development, stressing the introduction of current plans to rescue the state.
“We from Taraba came in with some very high level economic strategists. In our state government of Darius Ishaku came with a rescue mission, so we will bring in some of the element of rescue mission into the rescue plan towards the development of Taraba state, as far a our state is concerned rescue mission has come to stay and it would roll from 2021 to 2050.”
On her part, Director Special Duties Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr. Gloria Ahmed, harped the need for states to take ownership in order to ensure plans would be workable.
Ahmed who represented Minister of Finance Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, at the retreat urged stakeholders to ensure the 2021- 2025 plans would become successful.
She said, “It been perceived that federal plans are national plans, people seat in Abuja and come up with plans and due to lack of ownership those plans were not embraced by the sub nationals and stakeholders.
“So, they never really worked so this time around Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning decided on how to do things differently by engaging stakeholders so that there will be ownership of the plans.”
