NEWS ANALYSIS: State Planning Commission a Very Important Component of Government

By Catherine Philip Jelani

Adamawa State Planning Commission is a very important part of the government but, little has been known about the Commission. It was established in the year 1999. It is headed by an Executive Chairman, a Permanent Secretary, a Deputy Permanent Secretary. However, the Executive Governor of the state is the Chairman of the Commission by Law.

The Commission operates five (5) functional Directorates headed by Directors they are;

1.     Administration and Finance (A&F)

2.     Technical Cooperation and Social Services (TC&SS)

3.     Plan, Programme and Projects (PPP)

4.     Agriculture Industry Environment Planning (AIEP)

5.     Planning Research & Statistics (PRS)

The State Planning Commission is tasked with the following responsibilities;-

1.     To provide Policy Advice on Development Plan of the State to the Executive  Governor.

2.     To formulate and prepare Long-term and Medium –term and Short-term Development Plans for the State and Local Government Councils and coordinate  such plans Implementation at the State and Local Government levels.                                                                                                          

3.     To prepare and Control Capital Budget and set broad guidelines for the recurrent budget.

4.     To monitor Projects and Progress relating to plan implementation.

5.     To mange Foreign and Local Economic Co-operation including aids and technical assistance.

6.     To Formulate and Evaluate Manpower Development Policies and Strategies of State.

7.     To Establish a Data Bank for the state.

Recently, the Executive Chairman of the Commission, Engr. Arin LUTU  submitted a progress report to  his Excellency the Executive Governor of the state Sen. Umaru  Jibirilla  on the following developments;-

1.     Prepared Revised Capital Budget, 2015 in line with the focus of the present administration.

2.     Prepared Adamawa state Medium-term Fiscal Framework (2017) which comprises of Medium-term Expenditure framework (MTEF)and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP)

3.     Prepared 2015 Bi-annual Progress Report on the Implementation of Capital Budget (January-June 2015)

4.     Produced Statistical Year Book 2013 ready for Publication and Distribution.

5.     Produced Weekly and Monthly Price Guide (up to September 2015.) For further reading, read Weekly Price Guide of some commodities in Jimeta Metropolis 17^th -23^rd  November 2014, Printed and produced by the commission.

6.     Produced Pay Record Cards (PRC) and National Housing Funds (NHF).

7.     In collaboration with UNFPA distributed dignity kits, Relief materials, Psychosocial services and also provided skills Acquisition Training to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPS) in damare and Malkoihi  camps.

However, in a brief chat at his office,  Engr. Lutu revealed that Adamawa state is at the forefront in the production of rice in the country, adding that the Executive Governor of the state has during the National Economic council meeting held at the National council  chamber in Abuja in August 2015, requested the Economic council to include the state in the list of the rice producing states in the country due to its huge potentials. On the other hand, the central Bank Governor Mr. Godwin Emefele in his remark has promised to do that provided that the state develops its project plans for possible assistance from the Federal Government.

Other developmental issues discussed by Engr. Lutu include;

1.     Power/Energy, the state is considering a power project inherited at Kiribati Dam to develop its independence power supply.

2.     Current state of the economy which is deteriorating day by day. It has resulted into high unemployment rate, high inflation rate, high interest rate etc.

The Commission is a very important component of the government that needs to be supported by the government. For this reason, Engr. Lutu is calling on the government for support and assistance where it is relevant.