Public Affairs experts and economists have warned the incoming government about policy loopholes that can derail the administration. They identified critical areas that have presently put Nigeria in bad shape which should be of major concern to the Bola Tinubu Administration.
These pit holes included risk-unconscious over-dependence on hydrocarbons – oil accounted for 90.5 per cent of merchandise trade in 2022; poor policy coordination – expansionary fiscal operations, driven by massive borrowings vis-à-vis contractionary monetary policy; fiscal inefficiency and revenue leakages – recourse to borrowing (it is relatively easy) and doing so inefficiently (largely through the Central Bank of Nigeria – CBN), largely funding recurrent expenditure; counterproductive fiscal policies– fiscal policy reform weakening manufacturing activities and new investments; and misplaced priorities – deepening brown economy and disregarding sub-national comparative advantage, and discourages productivity and weak social compact.
These were part of submissions at the third National Policy Dialogue webinar, organised by the Public Affairs Service of CMC Connect LLP (Perception Consulting), last Thursday.
Themed ‘Setting a Fiscal Policy Agenda for the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Administration’, the webinar aimed to foster a national discourse on the fiscal policy direction of the incoming government especially in the areas of regulations, taxation, excise duties and other policies that are making the ecosystem unfriendly for business growth.
The keynote speaker, Dr. Abiodun Adedipe. who is a distinguished economist with expertise in fiscal policy, banking, finance, and public sector consulting, said that “the fiscal inefficiency, revenue leakages, misplaced priorities, risk-unconscious over-dependence on hydrocarbons, poor policy coordination, and counterproductive fiscal policies are the major reasons Nigeria is in a bad shape. However, I believe this discourse will serve as a platform to tell the incoming government the need to engage the private sector deeply in formulating and reshaping economic policies that will make Nigeria and the productive sectors bounce back, thereby promoting a better Nigeria”.
Furthermore, he said “what we are selling to Tinubu`s administration is to set an agenda for ourselves, to be the top 10 economy in ten years’ time”. Adedipe eloquently elaborated on strategic directions for Tinubu government. He said, in the immediate, the incoming government should match non-oil revenue to recurrent spending, aggressively promote exports to the world market starting with African countries; strengthen domestic manufacturing, interrogating the nexus between import and export tariffs.
Elaborating, the Chief Consultant at B. Adedipe Associates, recommended that the Tinubu government should ensure actionable, consistent and coherent fiscal, trade and monetary policies by promoting high level actions on policy coordination and ownership, unified voice on policy pronouncement, setting the right tone at the top, revamp reform on Ease of Doing Business, evaluate policies based on deliverables. He espoused that the government must expand non-oil fiscal space, push for tax/GDP ratio of 15 per cent and above, and align fiscal, monetary and trade policies.
The dialogue had a panel of discussants drawn from different sectors of the economy. They include Chief Executive Officer of CFG Advisory, Mr. Tilewa Adebajo; Corporate Affairs/Communications Director at Japan Tobacco International, Mr. Vivian Ikem; Corporate Affairs Director at Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mrs. Sade Morgan, represented by Mr. Uzo Odenigbo, Head of Public, External and Government Affairs.
Ikem, who was a panelist, spoke about issues on policy consistency, stating that inconsistency in the government policies can affect the drive of foreign direct investments. He urged the incoming government to ensure consistency of policies. He emphasised that the incoming government should ensure tight control of illicit market and stop adulterated products from grey markets being dumped into the country. Nigeria, in its present state he said, is a difficult place to do business. The incoming government should endeavor to reform the current fiscal policy and the civil service.
Odenigbo and Adebajo submitted that the economy under the Tinubu administration should be data driven. Data is key in comparative fiscal analysis with other markets, and in policy formulations, they argued. Adebajo advised that the incoming government should be people centric in its policy formulations. Oil subsidy, he stated should not be removed at once. It has to be a gradual removal while refineries are being brought to optimal performance.
Chairman of Odua Group, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru advised the incoming president to be altruistic in his appointments into key positions that are germane to the success or otherwise of his administration. The former banker wants Tinubu to follow in the footsteps of the Olusegun Obasanjo administration by appointing Nigerians with capacity to run the economy, irrespective of tribe, religion and party affiliation.
He emphasised that the administration should also prioritise agricultural transformation being the largest employer of labour and contributor to the gross domestic product of the economy.
The Founder/Lead Partner at CMC Connect LLP, Mr. Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, while moderating the session, said that “to achieve optimal growth and broadly shared prosperity, monetary policy must compliment physical goals”. He enumerated key areas of shortcomings of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, bringing out baseline facts and data on macroeconomic indicators from where Nigeria was in 2015 and where the nation is presently.
The Head of Public Affairs Service at CMC Connect LLP, Mr. Adetola Odusote assured that “in our quest to make business thrive, government thrive and our nation to thrive, we at CMC Connect LLP shall continue with our National Policy Dialogue Series, a convergent platform for public affairs experts to champion policy direction for the government. We have had policy dialogue on education and we brought the then Minister of State for Education, Mr. Chukwumenka Nwajiuba, while the Minister for Communication and Digital Economy Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami was our guest speaker when we held policy dialogue on Digital Economy and Fintech industry”.
Odusote assured that key insights and submissions gathered from the dialogue series would be made available to the incoming government. “Our objective is to contribute to shaping a more prosperous and sustainable economic landscape for Nigeria”.
CMC Connect LLP is a strategic communications firm headquartered in Lagos, and liaison office in Abuja, Nigeria.. The firm offers Public Relations, Reputation Risk Management, Publicity and Media Management, Financial Communications, Capacity Building, and ancillary marketing services to several companies including telecommunication giant, Airtel Nigeria. CMC Connect LLP was also recently awarded the ‘Best Place to Work’ at the Lagos State PR Industry Awards.
