As Nigeria’s 2019 presidential election date continues to draw nearer, the flagbearer of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) Dr Oby Ezekwesili, has tabled her plans for revamping the struggling economy.
Speaking at a stakeholders meeting Monday, Ezekwesili said there is an urgent need to overhaul the expensive cost of governance in the country.
According to her, she will consider working with the Oransanye Report which recommended that 220 out of the existing 541 Government agencies be either merged or scrapped completely.
She, however, stated that the report would need to be modified before implementation, especially in the areas relating to its implementation. But this is, of course, dependent entirely on if she wins the presidential election.
In the meantime, Mrs Ezekwesili also spoke about how imperative it is for Nigeria to get its fiscal problems sorted.
“There is need to implement policies that will boost the economy and lift people from the state of extreme poverty. China has shown us the way to do it, and we can do it, we need to keep hope alive.
“We need to get our fiscal crisis sorted out. The 2017 budget performance that was released by the federal government shows that we are now in a state of imbalance.” -Ezekwesili
A shift from oil-dependent economy and focus on human capital development
Commenting on the issue of the country’s over-dependence on oil, the presidential aspirant said her future government would shift focus from oil and focus on other investment prospects that will ensure better livelihoods for the people of Nigeria.
In specific terms, she said she will make human capital the centre of her economic development agenda. Oil, she said, is not as important as the professional competence of a skilled citizenry.
‘‘The productivity and competitiveness of the people of a country and the companies that operate within are the drivers of economic growth. And when the people are productive and competitive, the quality of growth that you achieve is one that is evenly distributed because everyone is participating in the growth driver.”
As we reported, the former Vice President of the World Bank and ex-Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, earlier this month joined the presidential race hopes of dismantling the current political order. As one of the most prominent opposition figures of the current administration, she has vowed to return political power to the people.
However, her chances of winning are slim as many doubt her political and financial clout to see through a successful electioneering period.
