The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu has said that that the federal government is designing a word-based system to map the 8809 wards in country to ascertain their economic potential.
He said every local government in Nigeria can do better tomorrow — whether in farming or fishing or livestock.
Bagudu made this known 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 was of the opinion that local governments should not just be dependent on transfers from the state and federal government.
The minister stressed they should also be the engine of growth to enhance the prosperity so that the rural areas would be developed, and contribute to national prosperity.
His words: “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. Whether farming or fishing or livestock. Meaning with investment we can do more in a very short period of time.
“We are designing a world-based system where we are mapping the 8809 wards of this country to see what programs 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.
“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 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.”