Introduction

The Special Duties Department in the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning (MBEP) formerly Ministry of Budget and National Planning is one of the service wide Departments established on 12th August, 2014 by the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation aimed at coordinating extra activities of the Ministry i.e. activities not in the line schedules of the Ministry as may be directed by the Hon. Minister and the Permanent Secretary.

Peculiar Responsibilities of the department of special duties as peculiar to Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning (MBEP)
Secretariat to National Economic Council
Secretariat to Joint Planning Board/ National Council on Development Planning
Tracking the implementation of resolutions reached at NEC, JPB and NCDP meetings;
Dissemination of information on activities of NEC, JPB/NCDP to States and Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and other institutions;
Established Community of Practice (CoP) to coordinate inter face and encourage networking among State Commissioners for effective Economic Planning
Effectively provided secretariat to Implementation Steering and Monitoring Committee (IMC);
Liaison with other Departments/Units in the Ministry for the purpose of promoting the formulation of plans, projects and programmes of the Government;
Processes Memorandum and Notes emanating from the Ministry and its Parastatals for the consideration of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to the Cabinet Affairs Office in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF);
Any other General Duties as may be directed by the Hon. Minister(s) and Permanent Secretary etc

National Economic Council Meetings/Retreat

The National Economic Council (NEC) is one of the Federal Executive Bodies, established by Section 153, of the 1999 Constitution as amended 3^rd Schedule, Part 1, item H. NEC shall have power to advise the President on the economic affairs of the Federation, and in particular on measures necessary for the coordination of the economic planning efforts or economic programmes of the various Governments of the Federation.

The NEC shall comprises of the following members
the Vice-President who shall be the Chairman
the Governor of each State of the Federation
the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria
The following are to be in attendance because of their critical role in the economic management and development of the country:
Minister of Budget & Economic Planning
Minister of Finance
Minister of FCT
Minister of Agriculture
Minister of State, Petroleum
The Permanent Secretary, Budget & Economic Planning doubles as Secretary to NEC while the Special Duties Department provides Secretarial Support Services to the National Economic Council meetings. The functions include Agenda Setting, Invitation and Logistics, Minutes Development, Report Writing and Post-Meeting Communication and Information Management as well as Monitoring the Implementation of the Resolutions of NEC either Annually or Bi-Annually.

At its 65^th meeting held on 28^th January, 2016, Council resolved that a retreat should be held, given the need to address key socio-economic issues and immediate feasible actions to improve revenue potential, job creation and economic growth at all tiers of government. At the NEC Retreat with the theme “Nigerian States; Multiple Centres for Prosperity” held from 21^st to 22^nd March, 2016 at the State House, Abuja, two Committees, viz: Implementation Steering Committees (ISC) and Implementation Monitoring Committees (IMC) were constituted to coordinate and monitor the seventy-two (72) NEC Retreat resolutions, reached at the Retreat. The two Committees are still in existence to ensure that the resolutions of the Retreat are complied with

In line with the National Economic Council at its 76^th meeting held on Thursday 20^th April, 2017, a Special Summit to discuss National Security challenges where all issues affecting national security were discussed. The Summit which held on Thursday, 17^th August, 2017 had in attendance Security Chiefs and other critical stakeholders. The Summit proffered practical solutions to the myriads of security challenges, some of which were already at an alarming proportion and had constituted clear and present danger to the attainment of Government’s developmental objectives and the survival of the Nation.

NEC AD-HOC committees

Within the period under review, NEC set up two Committees namely:-

National Committee on Export Promotion

The National Economic Council (NEC) at its 80^th meeting held on 28^th September, 2017 set-up the National Committee on Export Promotion (NCEP) following presentations made by the Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (HMARD); Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nigerian Export Import (NEXIM) Bank and Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA).

The mandate of the Committee was to accelerate the diversification of Nigeria’s revenue away from crude oil into other exportable products in agriculture, solid minerals and manufacturing. The Committee chaired by the Governor of Jigawa State had presented an Interim Report to Council and further work is on-going; and

National Committee on Industrial Policy and Competitiveness

The National Economic Council (NEC) at its 81^st meeting held on Thursday, 19^th October, 2017 constituted a National Committee on Industrial Policy and Competitiveness to work with the Nigeria Industrial Policy and Competitiveness Advisory Council in order to advance the course of National Industrialization and Competitiveness. The Committee is chaired by the Governor of Kaduna State and further work is on-going.

Joint Planning Board/National Council on Development Planning Meetings

The Joint Planning Board (JPB) is a consultative forum of the Permanent Secretary, Budget and Economic Planning and Permanent Secretaries/Chairmen/Executive Secretaries of the States Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Special Advisers from Federal and States Ministries responsible for Economic Planning Matters, representatives of Organized Private Sectors (OPS) and Development Partners. The forum focuses on technical discussions on policy issues with a view to propose optimal approach for enhancing economic management process at National and Sub-National levels. The JPB meeting precedes NCDP meeting and the deliberations and conclusions of the JPB meeting are presented to the National Council on Development Planning (NCDP) for consideration and approval.

The National Council on Development Planning (NCDP) is a statutory body, chaired by the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning and has responsibility to advice on National Economic issues. The membership of the forum includes Honourable Commissioners from the States’ Ministries and Agencies responsible for Budget and Economic Planning matters, representatives of Organized Private Sectors (OPS) and Development Partners. The Council also serves as an Advisory body to the National Economic Council (NEC). The Department provides Secretariat to NEC meetings and its Ad-hoc Committees

The meetings of the Joint Planning Board (JPB) and National Council on Development Planning (NCDP) are organized annually by the Ministry in conjunction with the host State. The meetings serve as veritable platform for senior officials of the Federal and State Ministries, as well as Agencies responsible for Economic Planning matters; representative of Organized Private Sector and Development Partners to interact among themselves on socio-economic issues.

The Department coordinates all aspects of planning towards every JPB/NCDP meeting including the Sub-Committees levels, the budgetary work-plan, the supervisory visits to the host State each time, and the various meetings during the preparatory periods, etc.

The 16^th JPB/NCDP meetings was held from 28^th to 30^th November, 2017 at Hon. Idris Legbo Kutigi International Conference Center, Opposite Government House, Minna, Niger State. The theme of the event was “Economic Recovery & Growth Plan (ERGP): Roadmap to Inclusive Growth, Resilient and Competitive Economy”.

Others JPB/NCDP Meetings are available on:

Ministerial Support Services to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) Matters

Federal Executive Council (FEC) memoranda are important government documents prepared by the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to enable the President-in-Council to make decisions that have wide-ranging implications for the country.
Memoranda are usually meant to seek Council’s approval, give information to members or communicate decisions of Council as well as the report of its deliberations otherwise known as Council Conclusions.
The Cabinet Affairs Office (CAO) in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation serves as the Secretariat for the (FEC). The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) is the Secretary to Council. The Special Duties Department collate all FEC memo from the Ministry as well as her Parastatals to the CAO.

Core achievements

The Department has achieved a lot in the course of discharging its activities. This include:
Effective organisation and coverage of all National Economic Council meetings and its various Ad-Hoc Committees. The Department has gained the confidence of NEC members and our reporting has been commended at various NEC meetings;
Engaging relationship with development partners especially the defunct Department for International Development – Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (DFID-PERL) now Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), leading to manpower development of the staff in three module programmes at Enugu, Abuja, Lagos and Uyo;
The Department effectively produced minutes/Council Extract of NEC meetings held on Twenty-three (23) occasions during the period under review and forwarded same to the Mr. President through the Office of the Vice President;
Coordinated a nation-wide monitoring of the Implementation of the 71 point NEC resolutions in March, 2017. The report of the exercise had been presented to Council in July, 2017;
The Department facilitated a two (2) day capacity building Workshop for State Commissioners of Planning and other State officials towards the implementation of the 71 point NEC Retreat Resolutions in February, 2017;
The Department provides Secretariat for the NEC Ad-hoc Committees
Facilitated the organization of the JPB/NCDP meetings with resourceful outcomes
Established Community of Practice (CoP) to coordinate, interface and encourage networking among State Commissioners for effective economic planning
Effectively provided Secretariat to the Implementation Steering and Implementation Monitoring Committees
NSIP Steering Committee held eleven (11TH) Meetings since inception to assess the performance of the programme in line with its objective, which is in the efforts to reduce unacceptable levels of poverty and socio-economic vulnerability in the country with an appropriation of N500,000,000,000 in 2016 to ensure smooth implementation of the programme and with the release of the programme funds, remarkable achievement has been recorded in this direction.