Nigeria urges agencies to roll out incentives to beat global financial crunch

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

LAGOS, Feb. 5 (Chinese media) -- Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has directed

relevant agencies of the federal government to immediately work out palliative

and incentive packages to cushion the impact of the global economic crisis on

Nigeria's citizens and businesses, according to the Punch newspaper on Thursday.

The president, who is currently on vacation, gave the directive following

the recommendation of the Presidential Steering Committee on the global economic

crisis in the country.

The committee held a closed-door meeting at the State House on Tuesday,

after which the President was briefed on the outcome.

Yar'Adua is the chairman of the committee, but was absent due to his

vacation.

The Presidential Steering Committee had recommended the reduction of the

pump price of petrol from 70 naira to 65 naira.

Olusegun Adeniyi, Special Adviser to the President on Communications, who

disclosed the outcome of the meeting, said the committee proposed a number of

palliative measures for the short, medium and long terms towards mitigating the

effects of the global crisis on the country.

He explained that immediately after the briefing, the president directed

the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Ministry of Finance to liaise with

other agencies and do more work on some of the short-term palliative measures

that are proposed in order to ensure their quick implementation.

Adeniyi pointed out that salary increment was not on the cards due to the

current falling crude oil price in the international market, but assured that

the proposed measures would boost the purchasing power of the masses and put

smiles on the faces of Nigerians soon.

"What is being worked out is a package of incentives that will ginger

production, increase the purchasing power of the ordinary man on the street and

help generate employment opportunities," he added.