The poverty reduction strategy process on Nigeria : third meeting of the African learning group on the poverty reduction strategy papers, Draft

Abstract

Post-independence development planning and policy making as typified by five-year Fixed Development Plans and succeeded by Flexible three-year Rolling Plans were largely predicated on trickle-down hypothesis. They were essentially top-bottom and failed to translate into pro-poor outcomes. The impacts of the planning strategies were undermined by weak implementation and monitoring, and poor link between budgeting, economic policy and plans. Given the shortcomings of previous poverty reduction development plans, dynamic new approaches have become a political and economic imperative if the threat poverty poses to sustainable development of the country is to be averted. There is therefore a large scope for the PRSP process in Nigeria to serve as a vehicle for avoiding planning mistakes of the past through systematic development of explicitly pro-poor policies.