• Shettima tasks govs on affordable transport, healthcare
• Minister allays fears over Ebola, urges states to strengthen preparedness
• Ogun govt to cut food prices, expand bus fleet

The National Economic Council (NEC) has endorsed a 90-day economic action plan to ease the cost of living, improve food affordability, attract investment and accelerate projects with direct benefits to Nigerians.
  
In Ogun State, Governor Dapo Abiodun announced plans to introduce a government-backed bulk food purchase scheme to reduce the cost of essential commodities, while promising to expand the state’s mass transit fleet to ease transportation challenges facing workers and other residents.
  
NEC also approved a national dashboard to track projects across the federation, with an emphasis on transparency, accountability, and the utilisation of funds saved from the removal of the petrol subsidy.
  
The decisions were reached at NEC’s 161st meeting, held virtually yesterday and chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, following a presentation by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele.
  
The development came as Shettima charged governors and relevant government institutions to ensure that the gains of President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms translate into tangible improvements in Nigerians’ living conditions.
  
He identified affordable transportation, accessible healthcare, job creation and greater financial security as critical measures of the success of the administration’s economic policies.
  
The 90-day action plan prioritises five areas: food affordability, tax harmonisation, completion of high-impact projects, removal of investment bottlenecks and regulated household support.
  
Presenting the economic outlook, Oyedele expressed optimism about the progress of the administration’s reform programme, identifying further reductions in headline inflation and interest rates, with a target of single-digit levels by 2027, as key policy objectives.
  
He stressed that the next phase of reforms would require coordinated implementation by federal and state institutions to translate macroeconomic gains into measurable benefits for households and businesses.
  
The plan is expected to focus on targeted interventions, improved fiscal coordination and the removal of barriers to investment.
  
Addressing council members, Shettima said economic reforms must ultimately be judged by their impact on citizens’ daily lives, rather than by policy announcements or headline economic indicators alone.
  
“The first dividend of prosperity should be the confidence to plan a life. Our task is to make such confidence less dependent on fortune,” he said.
  
The Vice President described the council’s deliberations on transportation, healthcare, police reform and livestock development as critical to determining the quality of life Nigerians should expect from economic progress.
  
He said the country’s federal structure should promote cooperation among the different tiers of government rather than impede the delivery of essential services.
  
“Our separate jurisdictions must serve a common public interest,” he said.
  
On transportation, Shettima urged state governments to support affordable, accessible systems to reduce the financial burden on commuters, particularly by adopting compressed natural gas (CNG) and electric vehicles.
  
In a related development, NEC resolved to establish a joint financing framework between the Federal Government and states to accelerate the deployment of CNG-powered and electric vehicles nationwide.
  
The decision followed a presentation by the Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles, Ismaeel Ahmed, on the National Affordable CNG Transit Programme.
  
Council directed that the initiative must deliver measurable benefits to Nigerians through lower transportation costs, rather than merely increase the number of alternative-energy vehicles on the roads.
  
It also called for engagement with transport unions and operators to ensure that savings from adopting CNG and electric vehicles are passed on to commuters through reduced fares.
  
To implement the decision, NEC agreed to establish a committee to coordinate the proposed financing arrangement, engage relevant stakeholders, and develop practical measures to make transportation more affordable, accessible, and sustainable.
  
Meanwhile, the council received an update on the reported Ebola outbreak in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) from the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, who sought to allay fears of a major public health crisis.
  
Pate assured council members that Nigeria had the institutional capacity to contain the situation and outlined measures coordinated by his ministry and relevant stakeholders to strengthen the national response.
  
He identified coordination and governance, surveillance at points of entry, laboratory testing, logistics for essential kits and personal protective equipment, and strategic communication as key components of the response.
  
The minister said 21 states had updated their preparedness and response plans, urging the remaining 15 states to expedite action to strengthen their capacity to respond to potential outbreaks.
  
NEC also considered the report of its Ad Hoc Committee on Polio Eradication, chaired by Gombe State Governor Muhammadu Yahaya, and directed states to strengthen efforts to eliminate the disease.

Abiodun, during a stakeholders’ meeting with organised labour representatives from the Ijebu axis in Ijebu-Ode, reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to workers’ welfare and to policies aimed at improving residents’ living conditions.
  
The proposed bulk purchase scheme, which will be implemented through the planned Gateway Trading Corporation, is designed to enable residents to access essential food items and household commodities at more affordable prices through government-supported purchasing arrangements.
  
The governor said the initiative was conceived in response to the rising cost of living and was prompted by a suggestion from the state Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Hameed Ademola-Benco.
   
He explained that bulk purchasing would enable the government to negotiate more favourable prices for essential commodities, thereby providing economic relief to households facing rising food costs.
  
According to him, the initiative could also stimulate competition in the open market, as traders may be encouraged to review their prices in response to the availability of essential goods at lower rates through the government-backed platform.
  
Abiodun assured the labour leaders that his administration would work to make the scheme operational, stressing that the government’s policies must address the practical economic challenges facing workers and other residents.