By Soni Daniel

Abuja—Apparently alarmed by the state of the economy, which is said to be in recession and to fashion a way forward, key ministers whose offices relate to the economy will converge at the Presidential Villa for a crucial meeting today (Thursday).

Also to join the ministers for the crucial parley at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja, are heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, who will rub minds on the priority areas of the 2017 budget as well as review the performance of the current budget to see how it has delivered dividends to the people.

A statement by the Media Adviser to the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr. Akpandem James, said the meeting was part of a scheduled arrangement by the ministry to set the right parameters and fine-tune the 2017 budget to align priority areas of the MDAs with national growth and development objectives.

“The key objective of the retreat is to discuss the 2017 Budget as well as discuss steps that are being taken to get the economy out of recession. It will provide an opportunity to discuss the framework of the 2017 Budget, the key priorities and the deliverables of the budget,” the statement said.

According to the statement, President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will participate; while private sector facilitators and some economic experts are expected to provide perspectives during the technical sessions.

The statement said that the retreat had become necessary because over the years the country’s growth and development have been impeded by mismatch between plan targets and budgetary outcomes at the national and sectoral levels due to lack of synergy among the federal government MDAs.

James said: “The retreat is expected to deliver improved understanding of the measures being taken to get the country out of recession; improve synergy among the various ministries for enhanced implementation of planning and budget; enhanced knowledge of how to develop 2017 budget which is effectively linked with the medium term plan.

“It is also expected to give an insight into the prioritized projects and programmes of ministries to fit into the 2017-2019 MTSS, 2017-2020 Medium Term Plan and 2017 Budget; and improved understanding on Budget ceiling for MDAs for 2017 Budget.”

The meeting is coming at the time the Senate has threatened to quiz the budget and finance ministers on what they are doing over the dwindling economy, a threat that has drawn divergent opinions from Nigerians.