Experts Urge Govt. To Block Leakages To Boost The Economy

EXPERTS on economy have asked the Federal Government to overhaul the economy by ensuring that the cost of governance is properly managed and leakages in the system identified and blocked. This was the thrust of discussion at the maiden roundtable organised by account, audit and tax firm, SIAO, held in Lagos, recently.

Renowned economist and Managing Director Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane said to revive the economy, the Buhari-led administration would need to re-organise security, increase borrowing to finance fiscal gaps, reduce cost of governance and passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) to unlock investment opportunities.

He said, “Strategic response of the government should include diversifying from oil, trade liberalization and deregulation, simplifying tax administration and reducing tax evasion, as well as aligning personal values with those of the party and legislature is crucial.”

Chairman, SIAO, Robert Ade-Odiacha, said what is needed now in Nigeria is the restoration of order, rule of law and punishment for offenders.

“Discipline is all that is required. Pay taxes on time and at when due, earn salaries as at when due because they have worked and be seen to have worked; there should be value for money in everything we do, contracts should be awarded accordingly to remove impunity or abuse of the process. That is what this government was appointed do,” Ade-Odiacha said.

On the devaluation of naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), he said, “There are times when devaluing the naira is a good tool to drive up production, because once you devalue, essentially your production is cheap, export is expected to rise and of course you must have something to export. If you devalue your currency and you don’t have production, then you must query what that objective would be because inflation will go up and if you don’t have anything to export, the economy will contract.”