The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) says the Economic Recovery and  Growth Plan (ERGP) of the Federal Government  will help in  tackling  the nation’s  economic recession  if due emphasis is given to sectoral development.

The NLC General-Secretary, Dr Peter Eson-Ozo, told newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja that “the plan is zeroed on some specific sectoral initiative policies”.

“For us, what is important is that the implementation should be done.

“When we looked at the plan , we had some issues with it and  when we met with the Minister of Budget and Planning over the plan, we stated our observations.

President Muhammadu Buhari during the Federal Executive Council Meeting held at the Council Chamber State House Abuja.

“Generally, it is a good plan because the government now has an instrument to directly tackle the recession in the country, ” he said.

Newsmen report that President Muhammadu Buhari  formally launched the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan on Wednesday in Abuja.

The plan, initiated by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, contains 60 critical initiatives expected to help in  re-positioning  the economy and putting it on the path of growth.

Some of the initiatives included the nation’s macro-economic stability, energy infrastructure and driving industrialisation.

Eson-Ozo said that the plan was not a conventional type that had duration or targeted at specific projects.

The general-secretary, however, said that labour had emphasised  that the plan should have targeted grassroots, based on bottom-top approach.

He expressed dismay that grassroots was not sufficiently engaged in the process of the economic recovery and growth plan, saying inputs from the constituencies and interest groups should have enriched such a document.

According to him, stakeholders are not carried along from conceptualisation to finishing; instead, what they did is to do the plan and share it, and then consulted with stakeholders.

“By the way, what is crucial is that they needed to dutifully implement it (ERGP) and see that the recession is actually tackled by all means.

“So, we do hope that the policies evolved will work  in the directions of the anticipated objectives and ultimately  tackle the recession, ” Eson-Ozo said.

He commended the initiative while expressing optimism that the nation would be on a sound economic footing.