The following Nigerians have adviced President Muhammad Buhari on how
to end the economic Recession. The 6th by senator Dino Melaye would shock you.
1. Atiku
Abubakar
Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria, at the Investiture Ceremony of the 9th President and chairman of
council of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers which held at the Civic
Centre, Ozumba Mbadiwe Street, Victoria Island, Lagos on September 29, said
this was the best way to end the recession: “It is, therefore, clear that
rather than praying for higher oil revenues, we should seize the current
opportunity to get over our addiction to oil revenues. “Discovering new oil
wells in the north or south is no substitute. Government should look to
sustainable sources of revenue, mainly taxes, duties and other levies. And it
can only enlarge the tax base by encouraging diverse economic activities right
across the country and investing in human capital development to produce the
entrepreneurs, inventors and workers of the future.”
2. Bola
Ahmed Tinubu
Asiwaju Tinubu said electricity is a vital resource Speaking at
the same event as Atiku Abubakar at the Civic Centre, Ozumba Mbadiwe Street,
Victoria Island, Lagos on September 29, Tinubu said Nigeria is blessed with
both human and natural resources, which it can properly harness to come out of
the recession. The APC national leader also spoke on the significance of
electricity in driving economic development, recalling how Lagos state invested
in private power project during his time as governor.
3. Olusegun
Obasanjo
Olusegun Obasanjo proffered three solutions to the recession
Former president Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday, September 27, while speaking in
Abeokuta at the opening ceremony of the National Council On Finance and
Economic Development Conference (NACOFED), stressed the need for Nigeria to
borrow, spend less and earn more to get out of the current economic recession.
According to the former president, the major problem with Nigeria is that “we
are spending more than we are earning and we have not been able to save for the
rainy day”. He then proffered this three-fold solution: borrowing, spending
less and earning more to the economic challenges of the nation. He also said
that funds were available outside the country, advised that Nigeria needed to
approach its allies who could lend to the country on reasonable terms. Obasanjo
stressed the need to develop agriculture, frowned at policies which tended to
turn the nation into a dumping ground for other countries’ products. “I was
shocked when the ban on importation of toothpick which we imposed in 1977 was
lifted four years ago. How can a nation seeking to rank among the best in the
world continue like that? “We must begin to do away with things that we can do
without and if we must import them, let them attract very high duties,” he
said. He also backed the sale of national assets, saying: “I do not see why 49
per cent of NNPC cannot be privatised. I think the problem is in the coinage
“selling of asset” as if we want to throw out our inheritance. What we are
actually doing by that is simply re-organizing.”
4. Bukola
Saraki
Bukola Saraki and the Senate are against the sale of national
assets The embattled senate president, Bukola Saraki, gave the federal
government some guidelines to end the recession in Abuja on Tuesday, September
27 in his welcome Address to mark the resumption of the Senate from a seven
week recess. He advised the federal government to among other things put in
place a pro-business leadership-level engagement platform with the private
sector to boost market confidence in the economy. He also advised the
government to raise money from sale of assets to shore up foreign reserves,
calm investors and discourage currency speculation. “The Federal Government
should engage in meaningful dialogue with aggrieved militants in the Niger
Delta and avoid an escalation of the conflict in the region. “The National
Assembly is very ready to play any role in the process. The Federal Government
must consider tweaking the pension funds policy within international best
practice safeguards to accommodate investment in infrastructure and mortgages.
“The government and the Central Bank of Nigeria must agree on a policy of
monetary easing to stimulate the economy and harmonise monetary and fiscal
policy until economic recovery is attained. “The Federal Government must retool
its export promotion policy scheme with export incentives such as the
resumption of the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) and introduce export financing
initiatives.” Saraki also said that it was pertinent that immediate, medium and
long-term strategies were devised to ease the suffering of Nigerians especially
those in the internally displaced persons camps. He then called on the
lawmakers to play their own parts in the area of legislation to ensure that
relevant laws were passed, saying: “We must ensure the passage of the Petroleum
Industry Bill as soon as possible to stimulate new investment and boost oil
revenue. “As we all know, this bill is long in waiting and is very crucial for
vital investment in the oil and gas sector. We will immediately begin the process
of accelerating bills aimed at reforming the sub-sector for growth and
accessibility. We must also explore the possibility of backing certain key
government policies with legislation.”
5.
Aliko Dangote
Aliko Dangote believes the sale of assets is key. Africa’s richest man and chairman of the
Dangote group, Aliko Dangote, has enumerated ways Nigeria can come out of the
current recession ravaging the economy during an interview with CNBC Africa. He
urged the federal government to sell off the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas
company (NLNG), and other dormant but huge capital-generating sectors in the
country. He also stressed that the proceeds generated from the sales should be
invested back into the economy before the end of the fourth quarter. Advocating
the diversification of the economy, he said: “The only way for us to get out of
this recession is to make sure we move into action quickly; action by
diversifying the economy quickly. If I had challenges in my company, I would
not hesitate to sell assets, to remain afloat, to get to the better times,
because it doesn’t make any sense for me to keep any assets and then suffocate
the whole organisation. “What we need to do now in my own thinking… we have a
lot of assets to sell. We can sell part of the joint venture; part of the
shares. You know government normally owns 60 percent. “We can sell in an open
tender be it Chinese. We can change the term and make it an operating one, just
like what we have in NLNG. We also have another asset I think we don’t really
need. “You will not believe that the crisis that we have today, if we have $15
billion, adding it to our $25 billion, that is $40 billion reserves. That will
give confidence, confidence will come back, then government will back it up
with proper economic policy, where people can see the roadmap.”
6. Dino
Melaye
Dino Melaye believes the sack of key officials is the solution Senator
Dino Melaye, the chairman of the Senate committee on Federal Capital Territory
(FCT), has proffered some really drastic measures to bring Nigeria out of the
recession. On Sunday, September 4, he said the way to stop the recession was
that the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun; Minister of Budget and National
Planning, Senator Udo Udoma; and the governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele be
sacked over the country’s economic situation. The controversial Senator said:
“At the moment, it must be crystal clear to all discerning minds that the
President’s widely-acclaimed magical body language has lost its presumed aura
and efficacy. His no-nonsense demeanor is equally neither instilling fear nor
commanding respect and loyalty from among his cabinet members. “It is therefore
obvious that the time for barking is over; now is the time to bite and boot out
all those who have demonstrated, in the past several months, a crass lack of
capacity to effectively carry out the functions of their office.”
7. Olisa
Agbakoba
Chief Olisa Agbakoba believes changes in CBN will help the economy
Mr Olisa Agbakoba, the former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)
has stated that the oil price shock contributed mainly to the downward spiral in
the economy which resulted in the present recession. In a statement he signed
and issued to journalists on September 16, he painted a gloomy picture of the
country’s economic situation which he said if not treated with urgency by
introducing strong fiscal, trade and monetary policy could lead to depression.
The statement says in part:“We know that Nigeria has experienced mismanagement
for several decades but now is not the time to lament but to chart a clear
economic policy direction that will give value to the economy. “This will
entail developing macroeconomic models tailored to stimulate all sectors of the
economy and catapulting us out of recession. “On the issue of monetary policy,
there is a lot of confusion. There is the need for harmonisation between
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy which is leaning towards tight liquidity
in a bid to harness inflation and the Minister of Finance call for increased
public spending on capital projects.” He also noted that that CBN has increased
the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 200 basis points from 12 per cent to 14 per
cent to combat inflation and stimulate growth. “The MPR is the anchor rate at
which the CBN, in performing its role as lender of last resort, lends to
deposit banks to boost the level of liquidity in the banking system. “If the
apex bank intends to increase the level of liquidity in the economy, it reduces
the MPR but increases it when it intends to tighten money supply. “By
increasing MPR, CBN has unfortunately tightened lending. The banking sector
requires strengthening and must be empowered to lend. I recommend that money
from the Treasury Single Account (TSA) should go back to the banks at single
digit rates and that banks’ recommended lending rate should not exceed 5
percent,” he said. Whose advice Buhari will heed is yet to be clear.
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