The Federal Government of Nigeria has organized a 2-day capacity building exercise for officers of Planning, Research and Statistics(PRS) departments of Ministries, Departments and Agencies(MDAs) on ‘Tracking Implementation of Development Plan Reporting structure and Scenario Development, in Abuja.
The essence of the exercise re-emphasized the importance attached to planning discipline, consistency and planning implementation for the delivery of national development plan goals, objectives and other outcomes.
Declaring the event open yesterday, in Abuja, the Director, overseeing the office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Dr. Sampson Ebimaro, acknowledged that officers of PRS Departments in all MDAs constitute the core think tank and engine room for formulation, development and coordination of policies as well as planning and budgeting in the Public Service.
He therefore noted that building the capacity of this crop of officers was apt considering the fact that the current Medium Term National Development Plan(NDP 2021-2025) would elapse in the next few months; as such, PRS Departments of MDAs, being key stakeholders in the business of national development planning ought to review and assess the performance of Plans with a view to identifying and suggesting areas for improvement.
In doing so, the Permanent Secretary added ‘we must be fully equipped with necessary skills and tools for effective tracking of plan implementation’. This, he said, would facilitate and catalyze steps and inputs for monitoring and evaluation stages of the Plan.
‘ We must be exposed to different methods and scenario development that would produce quick and desired outcomes. Ebimaro asserted that the exercise was to provide the platform for participants to learn and share knowledge together to advance the course of national development planning in Nigeria’.
‘ Aside from tracking the implementation of national development plans, we need to also address and appreciate the need for coordination, collaboration and cooperation in Government business among agencies to achieve better and higher results’.
He therefore charged PRS Departments, as custodians of Development Planning in the Public Sector, to continually review their work pattern, knowledge and skill for positive alignment with other professional Departments in the MDAs.
This is to enable them have a mix that would transform Nigeria to the desirable upper Middle-Income Country by the year, 2050.
‘ Let us therefore leave this capacity building exercise with renewed hope, clarity and a shared vision on how MDAs can work collaboratively to take plan implementation to greater heights. May this exercise inspire us more towards the success of our dear nation, he prayed.
In his welcome statement, the Director, Plans and Projects, in the Ministry, Dr. Kenneth Kwujeli, pointed out that the implementation of the NDP 2021-2025 was anchored on the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, which provided a comprehensive framework for driving sustainable development and inclusive growth.
‘The ability to showcase or present the achievement of the Government or any Administration by agencies will greatly depend on how much we have been able to track the implementation of the national plan from our sector’s performance, which is then aggregated for all to achieve an overall performance,’ the Director emphasised.
Paper presentations were made on the following topics: Framework for Development Plan Implementation Monitoring, Overview of Nigerian National Development Plan (2021-2025), Improving Data Quality and Collection Strategies, Data Collection Tools and Reporting Framework, Strategic Planning and Tracking Tools, amongst others.
Imaobong Udoh
For: D/Information and PR (BEP)
19/6/25.