The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, has unveiled a new ward-based development strategy as part of the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, stressing that future national plans will be rooted in Nigeria’s 8,809 wards.
The Minister made the announcement on Wednesday during a courtesy visit by the leadership of the Nigerian Economic Society (NES), who were in Abuja for their 66th Annual Conference. The meeting, held at the Ministry’s headquarters, underscored government’s commitment to inclusive, evidence-based planning and closer collaboration with the country’s economic think-tank.
Welcoming the delegation, Senator Bagudu congratulated the NES for a successful conference and described their role as central to shaping Nigeria’s planning framework. He explained that the new ward-based development programme will ensure that budgeting aligns directly with local economic potential, citing rice production in the North-West and aquaculture in the South-South as examples of areas where federal backing will now be targeted.
“For the first time, we will make planning the basis for budgeting,” the Minister declared. “If Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, and Niger States agree they can produce 30 million tons of rice, we will have a plan to support them, just as Bangladesh produces 35 million. If the South-South seeks to rival the Netherlands in aquaculture and greenhouse farming, we will back them. Federal support will no longer be in a vacuum, it will be tied to the real economic potential of each ward.”
Senator Bagudu emphasized that the Renewed Hope Agenda is designed to go beyond palliatives by adopting a deliberate, multi-year strategy to tackle poverty at its roots. Drawing lessons from India and China, he said Nigeria must craft its own uniquely federal model — “ward by ward, state by state, building upward into a credible national plan.”
The Minister noted that decades of underinvestment have weakened Nigeria’s development foundations across security, health, education, and infrastructure, but insisted that the Renewed Hope strategy will reverse this trend through well-sequenced, targeted investments. He further stressed that accountability, monitoring, and evaluation must be at the heart of planning to ensure projects deliver real value and are scalable.
Highlighting the role of technology, he argued that corruption can be reduced by adopting modern data-driven systems in planning, monitoring, and evaluation, similar to how electronic salary payments once curbed distortions.
Calling for partnership, Bagudu urged the Nigerian Economic Society to mobilize its expertise nationwide in support of the programme. “We need your members in every state, every university, every ward. This is how we can market Nigeria’s absorptive capacity and attract the right investments. When we show that our plans are measurable and locally grounded, the global community will respond with support aligned to our priorities,” he said.
Responding, the President of the Nigerian Economic Society commended the Minister’s bold and practical vision, pledging full support for the Renewed Hope Ward-Based Development Programme. “By identifying potentials and challenges at the ward level, resources can finally be deployed strategically to achieve measurable results. NES is ready to partner fully with the Ministry to deliver this agenda,” he said.
Reported by: Stone Reporters News
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