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2020 NPOD SUMMIT: FG Resolves On Improved Transportation, Welfare Of Armed Forces, Security, Others

President Muhammadu Buhari, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Office of the Secretary to the Government the Federation, Mr. Andrew David, said his administration is striving to prioritize and balance between the welfare of Nigerians and infrastructural needs of the country through pragmatism that enables government to simultaneously concentrate on social investment and infrastructural provision.

The national event of the 2020 National Policy and Development(N-POD) Summit, organized by the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Development and Analysis was hosted in Abuja on the 5th of March at the African Hall, International Conference Center, Garki Abuja. The event witnessed several deliberations amongst key stakeholders and from across key sectors in Nigeria.
Speaking during the 2020 NPOD Summit, which was themed "Actualizing The Next Level Agenda", the Hon. Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir S. Magashi noted that the welfare of the Nigeria Armed Forces especially the Nigeria Army was a top priority of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, considering the challenges of insecurity which the nation is faced with.

He emphasized on strategic efforts made by the government to consequently improve their welfare, stressing that the allowances of Soldiers would be paid promptly, as provisions of adequate insurance policies are already in place to manage events that may cause the lose of life of Armies while engaging their national obligations of safeguarding and protecting the lives and properties of civilians in Nigeria.
The 2020 National Policy Development Summit was designed to identify issues surrounding socioeconomic development, infrastructural advancements, challenges of funding and lending to the real sector of the economy, as well as the absorptive capacity of the economy. In-view of this, a Member of the Panel, Prof. Jide Oladipo butressed on infrastructural revolution, stressing that it was the backbone of any visionary economy and also the pillar of Life.

He raised issues concerning the increasing reccurent expenditure and the lukewarmness in the growth of capital expenditure. Prof. Jide laid emphasis on the debt rate, stating that there has been significant increase from about 7.34trillion naira in 2015 to about 17.83trilion naira in 2018. He encouraged government and leadership to make provisional steps to maintain and repair road, as he called on more indegenous companies to be involved in developing the infrastructural sector of our nation.
According to the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, who was well represented, he noted that concerns on infrastructural improvements is a key area which the present administration is working earnestly to achieve. He highligthed the significance of infrastructural growth, with emphasis on its impact on socioeconomic progress and cited some of the projects and interventions in the rail, ports, inland waterways and road corridor projects under the ECOWAS protocol. 

He also made notable references to spotlight the social contracts and obligations of government in areas of financing more social infrastructures, as it considers different types and approaches to infrastructural development, infrastructural gap, the impact on infrastructural deficit, as well as identifying bridges been built to manage the existing gap and deficits in the Nations infrastructural sector.
The even of 2020NPOD summit was interactive as Individuals, Professionals and Institutions were given opportunities to ask questions On issues discussed by Panel Members and Speakers with regards to security, military arms in custody of bandits without proper documentations and development in national economy and Infrastructural growth.

In the an opening remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Policy Development and Analysis, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Hon Ibrahim Bapetel, assured that being the second Summit in the series, it will continue to play a strategic role in national development, particularly for the Next Level Agenda to succeed. 

"This summit will continue in the tradition that we have started of interrogating strategies and prospects of our development as a nation, in the context of the Change Agenda. "At this Summit we will rely on the strength of your affairs to identify the challenges that may likely affect the actualization of the Next Level Agenda; and also generate inputs that will assist Government to stay focused in the next four years.
 "It is our distinct belief that the 2nd National Policy Development Summit will assist in proffering solutions that will enable Government deliver the Next Level agenda through impactful policies; especially President Muhammadu Buhari's directive to life 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within the next ten years. "Be rest assured that the outcomes of this engagements on several levels are being documented and disseminated to the relevant stakeholders. Our dream from the very beginning was to develop a repository of government policies, milestones and impact. With your help we are getting closer to our goals" Bapetel said. He also appreciated the President for "not only reading but also implementing our numerous advisory."

See more photos after the cut....