The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, Monday, disclosed that Nigeria’s population will hit N411million in 2050.
According to him, the new figure will make Nigeria third most populous country in the world after China and India.
Agba, who spoke in Abuja at a capacity building organised for special advisors and technical assistants of the ministers, said to check the expected progress, there are already laid plans to ensure economic stability, national development and good governance.
To this end, he urged the participants to carry out their roles with dedication and to be committed to the core values and objectives of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The workshop was organised by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning in collaboration with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS).
“Running a government is a team sport, and it is essential that all team members understand the role of governance and what constitutes effective governance. As SAs and TAs, you were appointed on the basis of your capacity to contribute to the attainment of the goals of this administration.
“You are expected to carry out your roles with dedication and a commitment to the core values and objectives of President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR. These include: integrity, honesty, inclusiveness and accountability.
“In order to provide effective assistance to ministers, special and technical assistants should work closely with the ministerial team and with other civil servants, and establish mutual relationships of confidence and trust.
“About two years ago, my ministry successfully organized a capacity building programme for newly appointed Ministerial Aides for the first time in our democratic experience. We have followed that up with capacity building programmes for Permanent Secretaries, Anchors and Secretariat officials for the development of the Medium Term National Development Plan (2021 – 2025 & 2026 – 2030) and the Perspective Plan Nigeria Agenda 2050 in partnership with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.
“As you may be aware, the ERGP, 2017-2020 and NV20:2020 lapsed in December 2020, necessitating the need to develop successor Plans, namely, the Medium-Term National Development Plan (MTNDP) 2021-2025 and Nigeria Agenda 2050, to replace the outgone plans respectively.
“There is the widely held notion that previous plans were Federal Plans. To eliminate this notion, the process for the on-going plans has been inclusive and participatory, involving not only state actors but the Organized Private Sector, Civil Society Organizations, Women and Youth groups, including People with Special Needs. “The Plans are anchored on the government’s desire to address the prevalence of poverty by lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in Ten years. It will also put in place strategies to tackle Nigeria’s increasing population growth, given that at current growth rate, the country would hit the 411 million mark and become the third most populous country in the world by 2050, after China and India.
“These plans will ensure economic stability, national development and good governance. Good planning comes with implementation objectives. In order to ensure therefore that we constantly check the progress we are making in different sectors against our plans, we have institutionalized our Monitoring and Evaluation mechanisms by finalizing matrix and targets to each ministerial Key Performance Indicators,” he said.
