The merger of the Ministry of Finance with the Ministry of Budget and Planning has attracted more worries from stakeholders who are concerned about the ripple effects on policy formulation.
The Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Muda Yusuf has called for renewed efforts to fix the economy instead of merging ministries. He noted that the newly inducted Ministers have a huge problem on their hands.
“Oil price has dropped below U$60 per barrel. Also, the general revenue outlook is not positive. Therefore, fixing the economy should be paramount on the agenda of the new cabinet. Policy coordination, especially between the monetary and fiscal authorities, and among the key economic ministries is very important. The ministers should also regularly engage economic operators in their respective sectors in order to get appropriate feedback on economic policy.”
Yusuf advocated for a new strategy that will stimulate diverse foreign investments and curtail fuel importation pressures on the dwindling finances of the government.
“Revenue performance of the government is weak at this time; hence, all hands must be on deck to ensure revenue optimization across all ministries without necessarily imposing an additional burden on the business community.
“There should be a fresh strategy to stimulate domestic and foreign investments, in order to attract more private capital into the Nigeria economy. It is equally very crucial to urgently reform the oil and gas sector in order to reduce the current pressure of fuel importation and subsidy payments on government finances.”
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A Nairametrics report earlier stated that the Ministry of Power was one of the newest Ministries created to curtail the power challenges being experienced in the country. Yusuf asked the Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman to start driving the policies of government forward.
“This situation is not sustainable. There should, therefore, be a deliberate strategy across board to put an end to this in the second term of this administration. We welcome the appointment of a substantive minister for power and we request that the ministry should be given all necessary support to fix the protracted power problem in the country.”
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