Introduction

The Special Duties Department in the Ministry of Budget and National Planning (MBNP), is one of the service wide Departments established on 12^th 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.

Responsibilities of the department of special duties as peculiar to Ministry of Budget and National Planning (MBNP)

Secretariat to National Economic Council
Secretariat to Joint Planning Board/ National Council on Development Planning
Secretariat to National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) Steering Committe
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.

The NEC shall comprise 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
Minister of Budget & National Planning
Minister of Finance
Minister of FCT
Minister of Agriculture
Minister of State, Petroleum

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 meetings of the Joint Planning Board (JPB) and National Council on Development Planning (NCDP) are organized annually by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning 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 JPB meeting precedes NCDP meeting. The JPB meeting is a consultative forum of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Budget and National Planning and Permanent 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 NCDP meeting is a statutory body, chaired by the Honourable Minister, Budget and National Planning which 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 deliberations and conclusions of the JPB meeting are presented to the NCDP for consideration and approval. The Council also serves as an advisory body to the National Economic Council (NEC).

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”. It was attended by 966 participants drawn from 28 States of the Federation, including the Federal Capital Territory. The Ogun State Government has affirmed readiness to host the 17^th Meeting of JPB/NCDP at a date to be agreed in the Second or Third Quarter of 2018 in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Others JPB/NCDP Meetings are available on:

National Social Investment Programme (NSIP)

NSIP is a programme of the Federal Government in its efforts to reduce unacceptable levels of poverty and socio economic vulnerability in the Country, with an appropriation of N500billion in 2016 to ensure smooth implementation of the Programme. The Vice President is the Chairman of the Programme Steering Committee, the Special Adviser to the President on SIP coordinates the programme, Ministry of Budget and National Planning is the Accounting Ministry, while the Permanent Secretary, Budget and National Planning is the Secretary of the Program Steering Committee.

The four (4) components of the Social Investment Programme.

The Social Investment Programme (SIP) is responsible for the management and delivery of four (4) Social Intervention Programme, namely

The Conditional Cash Transfer Programme
National Home Grown School Feeding Programme
Job Creation Programme (N-power); and
Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP)

Key responsibilities of the department

Provision of Secretariat to the National Economic Council (NEC) and its ad- hoc Committees
Provision of Secretariat to the Joint Planning Board (JPB) and National Council on Development Planning (NCDP) meetings
Tracking the implementation of resolutions reached at NEC, JPB and NCDP meetings
Provision of the Secretariat to the Steering Committee of NSIP
Dissemination of information on activities of NEC, JPB/NCDP to States and Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and other institutions
Liaison with other Departments/Units in the Ministry for the purpose of promoting the formulation of plans, projects and programmes of the Government; and
Perform any other function(s) as may from time to time be assigned to the Department by the Permanent Secretary

Core achievements

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.