Other members of the team are the Minister of National Planning, Dr. Usman Shamsuddeen (vice-chairman); Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Dieziani Alison-Madueke; and the Minister of Works, Senator Sanusi Daggash.

Also in the team are the Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Remi Babalola; the Minister of Agriculture, Prof. Sheikh Abdullahi; and the Minister of Transport, Mr. Yusuf Sulaimon.

Others are the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi; representative of the Office of Acting President, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance; Chief Economic Adviser to the Acting President; and the Director-General of the Budget Office, Dr. Bright Okogwu.

A source in the Presidency, who made this known to our correspondent on Tuesday, said that Dr. Ochi Achinuvu would serve as the secretary of the team.

The new economic team is the third to be constituted by the Umaru Yar’Adua/Jonathan administration.

Yar‘Adua had constituted the body when he assumed office in 2007. It was chaired by Usman.  The body was reconstituted for the second time in January 2009. Old members of the body since 2007 are Usman, Babalola, and a representative of the CBN, Mrs. Sarah Alade (Deputy Governor, Economic Policy).

It was learnt on Monday that the new economic team would hold its inaugural meeting on Wednesday (today) morning at the conference room of the Ministry of Finance before the Federal Executive Council meeting.

Our source said that the meeting would hold “to develop a comprehensive blueprint within one-week based on submissions from key economic ministries, departments and agencies of the government on their development template for the remaining part of this present administration.”

The new team will be assisted by five technical working groups, which will meet on a bi-weekly basis. Also, the economic team will meet with Jonathan and the various technical working groups on a weekly basis, while its interaction with the FEC will be on bi-weekly basis.

Our correspondent learnt that other stakeholders would be engaged through monthly press conferences.

The mandate of the economic team includes: reduction in infrastructure deficit; tackle unemployment, especially among youths; accelerate economic reforms; strengthen regulation and oversight of financial institutions; and improve public financial management by focusing on accountability and results.

The team is also to suggest ways of enhancing the quality and effectiveness of development spending as well as eliminating inefficiencies, corruption, and rent-seeking activities, particularly in the downstream petroleum sector.

It is also to enhance domestic resource mobilisation; diversify economic structures; achieve synergy and complementarily with states and Local Governments Areas (Fiscal-Federalism related issues); and evolve an effective Monitoring and Evaluation Framework to ensure the attainment of desired goals and objectives.

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