Economic Crisis: Solutions By IMF, World Bank May Not Work In Nigeria, Says Bauchi Ex-Governor Yuguda

Nigeria should not implement the  prescriptions by Bretton Wood institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) as solutions to the current challenges facing the country, because they may not work in Nigeria, a group of professionals in the All Progressives Congress (APC), under the aegis of APC Professionals Forum (APC-PF), have warned.

According to them, while only a handful of states have introduced meaningful measures to cushion the effect of the removal of subsidy, State Governors who have not done anything tangible in that regard should do so.

The chairman, Board of Trustees of APC Professionals Forum and former Governor of Bauchi State, Mallam Isa Yuguda and member of its BoT, Babatunde Ogala (SAN), said these during a press conference on the state of the nation.

Arise News reports that some of the issues which have dominated public debate include the discontinuation of the multi billion Naira payment of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petroleum, unification of all foreign exchange rate windows, intervention programmes in the agricultural sector to boost food production and the implementation of the Steve Oronsaye report which seeks to rationalize government agencies and parastatals.

Yuguda said that as a forum of technocrats and professionals in the party, the organization is not unaware of the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy in the country since it is an expected development.

He said having taken stock of the management of the economy and by extension the country in the past nine months, the APC-PF is convinced that the Tinubu’s administration had little choice about the courageous economic reforms it introduced to tackle the lingering challenges. 

Fuel Subsidy Removal/Unification Of Exchange Rates

Yuguda said, “The Forum commends the bold step taken by the President to end the fuel subsidy regime as well as unify the foreign exchange rates but we are not going to play the ostrich and say we are not conscious of the consequences of that action in the price of foodstuff and general cost of living that has in recent times triggered outrage in many parts of the country.

“On the unification of the exchanges rates, it’s important we highlight the commendable efforts by the Minister of Finance (and Coordinating Minister of the Economy) and the CBN Governor to arrest the freefall of Naira and plug the loopholes saboteurs used in undermining our currency and the economy. However, we must be wary of the Bretton Wood institutions who operates outside of Nigeria and may not appreciate the challenges of our economy. The solutions prescribed for American institutions may not work in our clime.

“We are also aware that the decision to discontinue fuel subsidy has since June 2023 led to a quantum increase in monthly allocations from the federation account to the sub-nationals  with States and Local Governments getting almost 70 per cent more than what they were receiving before the end of fuel subsidy.

“It is however a fact that only a handful of states have introduced meaningful measures to cushion the effect of the removal of subsidy so we are joining other Nigerians to urge all state governors to toe the path of the federal government in bringing succour to our people. The State Governments are advised to channel large portion of their increased federal allocations to food production and transportation and other intervention purposes to ameliorate the conditions of the people in their respective states.

“A lot has been said of the initiatives by President Tinubu administration to reduce the burden of Nigerians but in truth, those initiatives including the introduction of gas powered buses are slow in coming and must be expedited to bring relief to the people. This is why we salute the President for reading the riot act to government officials whom he accused of slowing down the impact of the reforms. This is a welcome decision and shows the hands on approach of President Tinubu to governance.

“The Forum notes with delight the 3.46% growth in GDP for the third quarter of 2023 in the latest National Bureau of Statistics NBS report. This is in spite of the two policies which underline the economic policy of the Tinubu administration. 

“As usual the non-oil sector did well with Agricultural and Services sectors as the driving force but one of the major positives in that report is the big leap in the oil sector for the first time in three years as a result of improved oil production from 1.34m barrels per day in 2022 to 1.55m mpd.”

He called on Nigerians to see the current situation as short term pains for long term gains.

Cost-Cutting Measures/Implementation of Oronsaye Report

“Our members are unanimous in thanking the President for making yet another difficult but important decision to finally implement the report of the Stephen Oronsaye led panel that was first submitted 12 years ago saving the country about N300 billion annually on wanton expenditures. Ee look forward to the report being implemented and expect significant  cost saving and more efficiency in the delivery of service to the Nigerian people.”

ECOWAS decision to lift economic sanctions on Niger, others.

“From the perspective of our in-house experts who are diplomats, economic sanctions imposed on Niger, Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso by ECOWAS which has President Tinubu as chairman were becoming counter productive even though they were necessary to discourage military incursion into governance in the sub-region. The President has done a great job in lobbying his brothers Presidents to lift the sanctions. 

“We also acknowledged that political and other targeted sanctions are still in force and look forward to Nigeria leading the charge to get the military leadership in those countries especially Niger to provide  acceptable transition time tables.”

Food Security

Yuguda said, “As a forum, we acknowledge efforts to boost food production through interventions like the N200bn intervention to cultivate 250,000 hectares of land following the declaration of a state of emergency. We however want state governors in whose domains the lands are to invest more in Agriculture even as they work with the federal government to enhance the capacity of farmers and forest rangers to protect farmlands.

“It is just nine months in the four year tenure of the President and from our assessment at APC Professionals Forum, the Tinubu administration is on track and we hope to provide a one year score card of the administration by  the time President Tinubu will be marking his first anniversary in office.”

Ogala said that if anything else, the fact that the decision of the government on Oronsaye report is generating controversies means well.

He said Tinubu’s administration should be commended for taking the bull by the horns to implement the recommendations of the Oronsaye report, since the previous governments of Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari could not do so despite setting up White Paper Committees on them.

“We know that the last two Presidents set up white paper committees towards the end of their respective administrations, we are hopeful that in implementing the Oronsaye report, measures are taken to avert job losses”, he said.

Friday Olokor, Abuja

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