The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has lamented that Nigeria is currently stuck in an economic morass, as most macro-economic indicators are spiralling out of control, inflicting severe hardship on more Nigerians.
A communiqué issued yesterday by the NESG Chairman, Asue Ighodalo, on behalf of its Board of Directors, explained that even though the economy continued to recover in the first half of the year, economic growth was dominated by sectors with low contributions to output and weak job-creating capacity, while the oil sector remained in recession for eight consecutive quarters.
Quoting the National Bureau of Statistics, (NBS), Ighodalo said the headline inflation is 18.6%, standing at more than double the Central Bank of Nigeria’s price stability threshold of 9%. In this regard, the Board of the NESG proffered solutions and recommendations on how to turn around the fortunes of the Nigerian economy.
The communiqué recommended, amongst others, that “a decisive action to tackle the Government’s revenue challenges which cannot be divorced from leakages through the large-scale crude oil theft; difficult operating environment for businesses, and lack of innovation in tax collection/administration, among others, that have resulted in low accretion to the nation’s revenue base. Governments, across all tiers, should lead by example through a drastic reduction in governance costs (such as running costs of the legislatures, the proliferation of government agencies, etc.) to reflect the austere times we face.
“We strongly advise greater transparency and simplicity in the management and communication of various subsidies (petroleum products, electricity, etc.) to establish their true costs that benefit the people.
The on-going face-off between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which has resulted in the closure of universities for about six months, has become a national embarrassment.
“In order to signal the Government’s commitment to a speedy resolution, we now need direct and strong presidential leadership in the discussions and negotiations to get our students back to school. The frequency of this face-off indicates a failure in the current funding model for tertiary education. The NESG is willing to support the Government’s efforts towards developing sustainable governance and funding strategies for tertiary education.
The NESG further pointed out that the increased tension and apprehension within the citizenry arising from the effect of the economy deserves urgent attention.
The Group, therefore, appealed to Nigerian leaders and agents of the Government to do all within their means to douse the tensions and assuage the feelings and sensitivities of the people through their utterances, actions, and conduct.
