The federal and state governments on Thursday agreed to jointly empower 1,000 individuals in each of the country’s 8,809 wards. Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, revealed this after a special session of the National Economic Council (NEC) chaired by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Describing the meeting as “a very historic step,” Bagudu said the initiative falls under the *Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme*, aimed at supporting the administration’s ongoing macroeconomic reforms. According to him, ” Having stabilized the macro economy. The next step is to drill down development to the lowest levels so that we can in the 8,809 wards of the country simulate economic activity, which we believe will generate employment, reduce poverty, enhance food security and even enhance social protection.” Bagudu noted that it is also in fulfilment of the Constitutional provisions in Chapter Two which demands that the government, federal, state and local government, harness the resources of the nation and promote national prosperity and efficient, dynamic and self reliant economy. “This can only be done cooperatively. And president as an ardent believer in federalism today, presented Renewed Hope Ward based development programme as a collaboration between federal state and local governments, a Federation project to be funded with the increased revenues accruing to the Federation account, as well as other programmes that the federal government and states are undertaking.