As the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan ends in December, the Federal Government has set up a steering committee to work on the design of a new economic development plan that will guide spending and economic decisions from 2021 onwards.

The Minister of State for Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Mr Clement Agba, disclosed this on Friday, in Lagos, during a working visit to the Centre for Management Development, Shangisha.

The ERGP is a Medium Term Plan for 2017 to 2020, developed by the Federal Government for the purpose of restoring economic growth while leveraging ingenuity and resilience of Nigerians.

Agba said the fluctuations in global oil prices and subsequent recession of 2016 had sent Nigeria into five quarters of negative Gross Domestic Product, which necessitated the design of the ERGP to channel resources into the right places.

Nigeria, as a result of the ERGP, had so far recorded 11 quarters of positive GDP growth, he noted.

“With the expiration of the ERGP, another economic development plan would need to be drawn up,” he said.

Speaking on the sidelines of the visit, he said, “We have identified those people that we need to reach for acceptance.

“Already some of the committee members are working, so it is not as if there is no work going on. A lot of work started sometime in November through December. The real technical work is done at the technical working level.

“The central working committee is already at work.

“But at the steering committee level we want it to be truly national, so we are reaching out to capture most of the diversities in Nigeria.”

He said the economic plan would be a federation affair instead of a Federal Government affair.

Agba said studies were ongoing to review the impact of the ERGP.