FG, States resolve to work together to tackle challenges

The Federal Government and the 36 states and the FCT at the end of the two-day National Economic Council Retreat in Abuja on Tuesday resolved to work together to tackle the challenges of the economy.

The ministers of Budget and National Planning, Mr Udoma Udoma, Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, Gov. Willy Obiano of Anambra and Gov. Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara, told state house correspondents that the government tiers had resolved to look at immediate ways of increasing their revenues.

According to Udoma, the NEC retreat resolved to concentrate on diversification of revenue sources, particularly on revamping agriculture as key to economic growth.

He further said that the retreat resolved to set national targets for self-sufficiency in a number of identified crops, stressing that ``in particular, we resolved to come together to make sure that by the end of this year, we will be self-sufficient in tomato paste.

"We also resolved that working together with the states that by the end of 2018, we will be self-sufficient in rice, that means we are going to expand rice cultivation in many states to achieve the target.

"We also resolved to work together to achieve self-sufficiency in meat production by 2019.''

The minister added that every state government was encouraged to identify at least two agricultural crops it had comparative advantage and that the government would open up rural roads to facilitate transportation of agricultural produce.

He noted that the retreat resolved that the Ministry of Solid Minerals would complete and present the Solid Mineral Road Map by March 31, as framework to addressing illegal mining, licences, taxes and royalties.