The Federal Government has reiterated its
determination to bring down the inflation rate to a
single digit by 2020, the Minister of Budget and
National Planning, Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma, has
disclosed.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its
Consumer Price Index (CPI) May 2017 report, released
in Abuja on June 14, indicated that the country’s
inflation dropped to 16.25 per cent in May from 17.24
per cent in April.
According to the report, this is the fourth consecutive
decline in the rate of inflation since January.
The bureau stated that the headline index increased
by 1.88 per cent in May 2017, 0.28 per cent points
higher than the rate of 1.60 per cent recorded in April
2017.
However, Udoma, who featured on a
programme,“Guest of the Week’’ on Liberty Television
and Radio, expressed government’s commitment to
further contain the inflation rate so as to make life
more meaningful to the citizens.
According to him, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
is saddled with the responsibility of achieving the
single digit inflation rate by 2020.
“We are targeting to bring the inflation to single digit
by 2020 and it is the role of the CBN to do that,’’ he
said.
The minister expressed optimism that the single digit
inflation rate would be achieved in spite the
allegations of policy inconsistencies being leveled
against the CBN in some quarters.
He said: “I don’t think there are inconsistencies, you
have different objectives and you have to balance, it’s
a balancing thing, it’s not inconsistencies.’’
On plans to submit the 2018 budget to the National
Assembly by October, the minister said government
was determined to return to the January-December
Budget Year cycle.
“We want to move back into a January-December
budget year because even though the Act that the
NASS passed and signed into law allows 12 months
which means that this budget just signed has a 12-
month lifespan, but it is not the best.
“People need to plan carefully with the January-
December budget cycle.
“After the budget was passed, we engaged with the
leadership of the NASS, the executive team led by the
Acting President and we agreed that we will bring the
2018 budget by the beginning of October.
“This will enable them to work on it and possibly
passed it before the end of December so that by
January 2018 we can start implementing the budget,’’
he added.
Udoma also explained why the 2017 budgetary
allocation to the nation’s agricultural sector was low
when compared to other sectors of the economy.
According to him, agriculture is for the private sector
and the government has no plan to take over the
farms and factories from the farmers.
He specifically noted that the role of government was
to provide the enabling environment for the farmers to
succeed.
The minister said: “Agricultural production is for the
private sector; we don’t want to take over that from
the private sector; we don’t want to take over farms
from the farmers.
“We want the farmers to produce; we don’t want to
take over factories from their owners.
“What government does is to provide an enabling
environment because government is not as efficient as
the private sector ,when we say we want to support
agriculture, it does not mean we are going to do it
ourselves and what is required is to support
agriculture.’’ (NAN)


http://fawoleblog..co.ke/2017/07/fg-vows-to-reduce-inflation-rate-to.html?m=1

Madness.

SmartchoicesNG:
Madness.

Of the highest order

They have come to deceive us again.

Did I hear 2020, maybe they are proposing it to the incoming government. I will advice them not to strectch their dreams beyond 2019. Shekinah.