NEC backs 90-day plan to cut living costs and make food cheaper

The National Economic Council (NEC) has endorsed a 90-day plan drawn up by the Federal Ministry of Finance to bring down the cost of living, with food prices at the centre of it.

The council, which brings the federal government and the 36 state governors together, gave its backing at its 161st meeting on Thursday. Vice President Kashim Shettima chaired the meeting, held virtually.

The plan rests on five areas: making food more affordable, harmonising taxes, finishing high-impact projects, clearing hurdles to investment, and supporting households in a regulated way. The details of how each will work were not made public.

For an ordinary Nigerian, the test will be whether market prices, transport fares and everyday costs actually fall. The statement from the Presidency announcing the plan did not give figures or timelines beyond the 90 days.

What else the council decided

NEC approved a national dashboard to track projects across the country. The idea is to show clearly how money from the removal of the fuel subsidy is being used.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, presented the plan and the country's economic outlook. He said the next stage of reforms will need the federal and state governments working together, and named single-digit inflation and interest rates by 2027 as targets.

Shettima told governors that the gains of President Bola Tinubu's reforms must reach people's daily lives, through cheaper transport, better healthcare, jobs and financial security.

"The first dividend of prosperity should be the confidence to plan a life," he said.

On the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) bus programme, the Vice President said it should be judged by whether fares drop and commuters can afford and reach the buses, not by how many vehicles are on the road.

"The cost of reaching a livelihood should never consume the livelihood itself," he said.

The council agreed that the federal and state governments will set up a joint financing arrangement to speed up the use of CNG and electric vehicles. It also said transport unions and operators should be brought in so that savings from the switch show up as lower fares. A committee will be set up to work out the arrangement.

Ebola, polio and livestock

The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, briefed the council on the reported Ebola outbreak in the Federal Capital Territory. He said Nigeria has the systems to contain it and set out the response: coordination, screening at entry points, laboratory testing, supplies of kits and protective equipment, and public communication.

He said 21 states have updated their response plans and asked the remaining 15 to do the same without delay.

On polio, the council directed states to review campaigns, especially where children were missed and in communities affected by insecurity. It called for counterpart funds to be released on time and for closer work with security agencies.

The council also took the report of its committee on livestock development, chaired by Kebbi State Governor Nasir Idris, and agreed that federal and state governments should work together to grow the sector and create jobs.