The National Economic Council (NEC) has approved a 90-day economic action plan to ease Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis, improve food affordability and reduce transport costs, while directing federal and state governments to ensure commuters benefit from savings generated by gas-powered and electric vehicles.
The plan was proposed by the Federal Ministry of Finance and endorsed on Thursday at the council’s 161st meeting, chaired virtually by Vice-President Kashim Shettima.
According to a statement by Shettima’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, the plan has five priority areas: food affordability, tax harmonisation, completion of high-impact projects, removal of investment bottlenecks and regulated household support.
The council also approved a national dashboard to monitor projects across the country, with emphasis on transparency, accountability and tracking the use of funds generated from petrol subsidy removal.
Speaking at the meeting, Shettima urged state governors and relevant institutions to ensure that the benefits of President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms translate into improved living conditions for Nigerians.
He said the success of government policies should be measured by their effects on people’s daily lives, including access to affordable transportation, healthcare, jobs and financial security.
“The first dividend of prosperity should be the confidence to plan a life. Our task is to make such confidence less dependent on fortune,” he said.
On transportation, the vice-president said the National Compressed Natural Gas Bus Initiative should be assessed by its impact on commuters’ expenses rather than the number of buses deployed.
“The cost of reaching a livelihood should never consume the livelihood itself,” he said, adding that affordability and access should guide the assessment of public transport programmes.
The council also resolved to establish a joint financing framework between the Federal Government and state governments to accelerate the deployment of compressed natural gas and electric vehicles.
It directed relevant authorities to engage transport unions and operators to ensure that savings from the vehicles’ use are passed on to passengers through lower fares.
Shettima called for stronger cooperation between federal and state governments, warning that their separate responsibilities should not become excuses for failing to deliver essential services.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, briefed the council on the reported Ebola outbreak in the Federal Capital Territory, assuring members that Nigeria had the institutional capacity to contain it.
Pate said the response would focus on coordination, screening at points of entry, laboratory testing, the provision of essential kits and personal protective equipment, and public communication.
He disclosed that 21 state governments had updated their preparedness and response plans and urged the remaining 15 to establish appropriate mechanisms.
The council also directed states to intensify polio eradication efforts, particularly in communities where children had been missed during immunisation campaigns and in areas affected by insecurity.
It further acknowledged the potential of livestock development to create jobs, stimulate economic growth and improve livelihoods, resolving to strengthen cooperation between federal and state governments to advance the sector.
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