The National Economic Council (NEC) has approved N83.2 billion for the Anticipatory Action Task Force (AATF) interventions to mitigate the impacts of anticipated flooding and other climate-related emergencies nationwide.
This is just as the chairman of the council, Vice President Kashim Shettima, called on states to work with the federal government in resolving the logistical and compliance barriers that prevent farm produce from reaching international markets.
The approval of the N83.2 billion intervention funds was made at the 158th meeting of the NEC on Thursday, following a presentation to the council by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Mr Atiku Bagudu, on the need to proactively address issues associated with flooding across Nigeria, particularly during the rainy season.
In addition, the group noted the importance of the AATF in addressing disasters and emergencies across the country, underscoring that NEC cannot continue to be seen as always taking reactive measures in emergency and disaster management.
Speaking at the meeting, the Vice President said the President Bola Tinubu administration’s reform agenda must now produce visible results across the federation.
Mr Shettima noted that the council’s work must be judged by the changes it brings to the lives of ordinary Nigerians, especially farmers, manufacturers, vulnerable citizens, unemployed young people, and children who will inherit the country.
He stated, “When this council last met, I called our economy a workshop. A place of measurement and correction. A place where plans are turned into systems, and systems into institutions, before any of it becomes prosperity.
“A workshop is judged by one thing. Not by the plans pinned to its walls, but by what comes off the bench. We return to that bench today. Not to admire the image, but to ask the question that honours it. Is the work taking shape?”
He said Nigeria remains a federation moving from stabilisation to production, from aspiration to implementation, and from isolated interventions to coordinated national growth.
According to him, the agenda before the council was not a new conversation, but a continuation of the national assignment with greater pressure for action and results.
“The assignment has not changed. We remain a federation moving from stabilisation to production, from aspiration to implementation, from isolated interventions to coordinated national growth. What has changed, I hope, is our proximity to delivery.
“A federation does not earn its prosperity by leaving its most vulnerable behind and hoping they catch up. The dignity of the citizen with the least is the floor beneath which we have resolved that no Nigerian shall fall.”
Mr Shettima pointed out that the social protection agenda before the council was an opportunity to convert national conscience into a durable system that protects citizens and strengthens human capital.
On exports and production, the VP said Nigeria must stop relying on exporting raw materials while importing finished products from other countries.
He maintained that the country’s economic transformation depends on a complete value chain linking farms to factories, factories to standards, standards to ports, and ports to markets.
“We cannot continue to export raw materials and import finished products,” he said.
The VP also assured that the council would confront bottlenecks that weaken Nigeria’s agricultural exports, especially those affecting the movement of goods through ports and the standards required by international markets.
He averred that improving port processes and meeting export compliance requirements are central to rewarding farmers, strengthening manufacturers and expanding Nigeria’s participation in global trade.