Nigeria’s economy has continued to attract discussions by the citizens as hardships, ocassioned by some of the policies of the federal government grow.
To most analysts, the consequences of the policies have altered the social and economic stratifications with the removal of the middle-class citizens as the few upper echelon of the society continues to dictate and majority of the people falling into poverty.
For instance, Tilewa Adebajo, CEO of CFG Advisory has stated that Nigeria’s envisaged $1trillion economy remains a mirage without the right policies
Lagos based analyst, Friday Ameh posited that there is need for more synergy between the Monetary and fiscal policies for the much needed sustainable growth to be achieved.
“Given that the Central Bank of Nigeria has made some remarkable achievements in the last two years, but the unguarded expenditure by the federal government seems to be eroding the seeming successes. Also, authodox central banking does not necessarily mean being unidirectional in its policy applications. Nigerians have endured high interest rate for long, the economy needs a breather through tinkering with the Monetary Policy Rate,” Ameh said.
Another analyst who opted for anonymity said the federal government has not demonstrated to the people on the need to cut down cost of governance.
“The same government that came to power on the promise of frugality and even promised to implement the Onosode report has been caught in its own web of extravagance. How do you explain several foreign visits by the president and in whose interest?. Funds move to where it can be priced maximally. How can our president be travelling abroad always with large encourage, seeking for investors and partnerships, when, on the home front, the local investors are battling with high interest rates, inflation and decayed infrastructure.”?
Adebajo, who spoke on Arise Television’s, ‘The Morning Show’, program, monitored by metrobusinessnews.com on Thursday said that while commending the federal government’s discontinuation of the Ways and Means from the CBN, there is need for urgent fiscal reforms if the economy must grow.
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He advised that rather than the tax reforms, the fiscal responsibility Act should have come first, and the CBN should focus on inflation targeting for synergy and sustainable development, insisting that envisaging the $1 trillion economy, though the economy is potentially bigger than that rate, it remains a mirage without the right and complementary policies.
Responding to questions from the Arise Television crew, the financial analyst said:
“We said Nigeria already has a potential of a $1 trillion economy. $1 trillion economy is a mirage. We shouldn’t go there again. We should stop talking about it… I believe Nigeria is already more than a $1 trillion economy, but that is the potential of the economy.”
On the Importance of Policies, he said, “If you do not have your policies in place, you cannot reach that $1 trillion economy.”
On inflation control, Adebajo emphasized that “GDP growth of 8 to 10 percent only happens when inflation is 12 percent or lower, citing research done over 30 years in Nigeria.”
He urged CBN to become more aggressive in “targeting inflation and to cut interest rates by the fourth quarter of 2025.”
On microeconomic solutions, he called for a “shift towards microeconomic solutions such as job creation and stronger social intervention programs to give ordinary citizens some reprieve before long-term gains in the economy are realized.”
According to him,”There has to now be a human face,” while urging the government to balance reforms with policies that directly improve the welfare of Nigerians.
