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The Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy (ISGPP), Ibadan, has called on the Federal Government to take its economic growth plans seriously by implementing sound policies.
Executive Vice Chairman of the school, Dr Tunji Olaopa, made the call, yesterday, at the first seminar series of ISGPP titled, ‘Transiting from Bust to Boom: Fiscal, Financial and Infrastructure Options’.
Olaopa said the ISGPP think tank is worried that the little measure of success recorded since the exit from economic recession may be traded for cheap political points by the political class.
According to him, now is the best time for economic experts and other stakeholders in the business of governance to begin a conversation that would deliver an alternative sustainable and inclusive model of development for Nigeria.
He said: “We believe that in order to achieve this objective, undivided attention must be paid to the following areas: engendering economic diversification, job creation and inclusive growth, conversion of government illiquid to liquid assets and reduction of budget deficit and debt servicing, espousing a less fractious intergovernmental fiscal relationship and a more coordinated national development agenda.”
He listed other steps that should be taken to include re-imagining the role of oil resources in national development, the role of fiscal, monetary and exchange rate policies in the post-recession economy, maintenance of beneficial external relations and foreign policy and implementation capability of government institutions and public service reforms.
In the same vein, the Chief Executive Officer, Economic Associates, Dr. Ayo Teriba, in his keynote address, noted that for Nigeria to transit from bust to boom economy, foreign investors have to invest in the private sector.
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