Minister denies plan to retrench civil servants

Hajiya Zainab Ahmed

The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, has said there is no plan by the Federal Government to retrench civil servants.

This is contained in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by Mr Charles Dafe, Director of Information in the Ministry.

The statement quoted Ahmed to have said this when Mr Makhtar Diop, Vice President African Region, World Bank, visited the minister in Abuja.

It, however, stated that the present administration was committed to removing ghost workers from the public system.

The statement also said that the Federal Government was making thorough scrutiny on public expenditure to guarantee better returns on expenditure.

“This is to ensure that Nigerians receive better returns on their expenditure, especially, in the productive sector of the economy,’’ it said.

According to the statement, the minister requested the assistance of the World Bank to address the challenges confronting the country’s agricultural and economic sectors.

“We shall send some of our specific requests to your bank, like assistance in agriculture and public expenditure review.

“Empowering our National Bureau to perform household, inflation and poverty measurement surveys, including approaching other development partners to provide more grants support to Nigeria,’’ the statement said.

The statement also quoted the Vice-President of the World Bank to have said that said the bank understood the present plight of Nigeria, the challenges of security and present fall in oil price resulting in dwindling revenue.

Diop promised that the bank would provide helpful economic advice and better financial services to help Nigeria’s economy as well as support the country to grow its agricultural sector. (NAN)