President Bola Tinubu has said his administration decided to remove the subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to free up resources for critical investments in the country.
He also said the courageous steps to reform Nigeria’s macroeconomic environment were focused on restoring confidence in the country’s economy.
However, the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Transcorp and United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group, Tony Elumelu, urged the Federal Government to focus on the key areas that would shape the country’s economic future and address the major challenges to fix not just the present crisis but alter the country’s destiny permanently.
Tinubu spoke, yesterday, while declaring open the 17th Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) Banking and Finance Conference held in Abuja.
The President, who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, described this year’s theme for the CIBN Conference, ‘Accelerating Economic Growth and Development: The State of Play and the Way Forward,’ as both timely and imperative, noting that it came at a time the nation is grappling with inter-related challenges.
Explaining efforts being made to restore confidence in the nation’s economy, Tinubu said, “We have taken bold steps to reform the macroeconomic environment. Our focus is on restoring confidence in the Nigerian economy through measures aimed at reducing inflation, stabilising the foreign exchange market and improving fiscal management.
“Though painful in the short term, the removal of fuel subsidy is designed to free up budgetary resources for critical investments in infrastructure and social services, frequent adjustment of the monetary policy rate, a move aimed at curbing inflation and fostering a more market-oriented exchange rate system.”
He also noted his administration’s commitment to strengthening infrastructure development in the bid to grow the economy.
Speaking earlier, President/Chairman of CIBN, Prof Pius Olanrewaju, called for urgent introspection on Nigeria’s economic challenges, stressing the need for innovative solutions.
“We are on a journey to economic growth and prosperity,” Olanrewaju stated, acknowledging, however, that “the present challenges are things of concern.”
He emphasised that while the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) introduced several monetary policies to address the issues, their success hinged on “the professionalism and patriotism of operators in the financial services sector.”
In his goodwill message, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, said his agency would help to sanitise the financial system and instil laws that fight financial crimes.
THE critical areas Elumelu reiterated for the government’s attention included access to electricity, the need to protect the people, feed them, attract investment, and foster trade and youth entrepreneurship by incentivising the youth to embrace the challenge of driving economic growth.
Elumelu pointed this out, yesterday, in his keynote speech at the CIBN conference in Abuja.
He said the country needed a comprehensive strategy to support its vast and diverse population and unlock its potential.
“Nigeria is rich in resources, natural and human. Time and time again, we have failed to invest in our people and our value chain.”
Stressing the need for electricity, Elumelu highlighted, “Nigeria cannot industrialise and our youth cannot be educated without ensuring our abundant natural resources are translated into plentiful, robust power for all; a power ecosystem that encourages investment and unlocks our economy. To accelerate our progress, we must enable our power sector to guarantee reliable electricity for everyone.”
