Abuja — The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, has revealed that the Federal Government has resolved to design a word-based system to map the 8,809 wards in country to ascertain their economic potential.
Bagudu disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at the 4th Local Government Economic Summit with the theme '25 Years of Uninterrupted Democracy in Nigeria: The Place of Local Government in Rural Development and Food Security', organised by The Summit Group.
He explained that most of the rural local governments are blessed with one thing or the other, adding that there is opportunity for farming, fishing, livestock or a combination of all.
Bagudu noted: "If you are blessed with good oil and I am blessed with groundnut oil, that is the same thing. But we have to appreciate these blessings, and we have to work hard so that we can generate value from those blessings.
"Every local government in Nigeria can do better tomorrow by focusing on what is it that our agriculture has remained largely limited, whether farming or fishing or livestock. Meaning with investment, we can do more in a very short period of time.
"In Kebbi State, while I was a governor, we found out that in one cropping season, most of our farmers moved from less than one ton per hectare to as much as five tonnes per hectare in the first project.
"This is the opportunity that is before us. How do we unlock it? How do local governments become the centre of economic activity as they ought to be, especially in this area?"
The minister stressed that there was a need for local government councils to do self assessment to determine the areas where they have comparative advantage.
According to him, "What has God blessed us with? How can we ensure that we generate more from what God has blessed us with? How can we encourage the state government? How can we encourage the Federal Government to partner with us, to support us so that we can do better in those areas.
"As we speak, as a Minister of National Planning, because part of our mandate is the coordination of national, federal, state and local government.
"We are designing a world-based system where we are mapping the 8,809 wards of this country to see what programmes are running them, what economic potential are there, so that we can support them.
"We need to move towards sustainable agriculture. Primitive agriculture, where you just clear forest or tree in a non sustainable manner is not worth it. Science has taught us that with little space. Applying science, we can all move, but those things require resources beyond what we currently have.
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"That's why conversations like this matter. That's why we should take interest in all debates, including the current tax reform debate, because they are also important to the local government to function.
"Local governments should not just be dependent on transfers from the state and Federal Government. They should also be the engine of growth in terms of what can we do to enhance the prosperity of our local government to include everyone, so that the rural areas will be developed, there will be food security, and will contribute to national prosperity."
On his part, a former president of ALGON and Board of Governance Chairman, Local Government Economic Summit Group (LGESG), Hon. Aminu Maifata, said the summit was the convergence of local government stakeholders to objectively find solution to the plethora of challenges facing the local government system in Nigeria.
He said the body was determined to fashion out ways to the economic wellbeing of the people through collaborative effort on poverty reduction, skills acquisition, political awareness and community service.
Also, the National President, Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Hon. Bello Lawal, said they must resolve to work together to usher in a new era of hope for the citizens of the country, most of whom reside in local communities.
He noted: "With the financial autonomy granted local government councils, it presents a new era where local governments now have the capacity to create an enabling environment that empowers the rural poor to fulfill their economic, social and political aspirations."
