From Uche Usim, Abuja
As Nigerians wail over severe economic crunch, the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, has asked frustrated citizens not to despair as better days are on the horizon with the implementation of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Edun gave the assurance at a two-day retreat of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms in Abuja.
He said it was the wish of the President to create jobs, reduce poverty, control macro economic policies to create a stable environment to attract investors. He said that the government was working assidously to stabilise the naira exchange rate and drive the economy to tackle the poverty monster.
Edun added that though the removal of fuel subsidy has slowed down the economy, there were interventions put in place to cushion the pains of the reform and correct leakages on subsidy.
He added that the era of a swift fall of Nigeria’s GDP per capita by 30 per cent as it happened over the past 10 years, will be a thing of the past with the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He also assured that the issue of hyper-inflation in the nation’s economy would soon be a thing of the past.
He reminded the committee members of the President’s 30 days deadline to deliver something tangible on their assignment, adding that the economy was not growing fast as expected.
He enjoined the committee to fast tract its assignment as there was no time to waste.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, thanked Edun for his charge. He disclosed that the Terms of Reference of the committee are: Fiscal Governance, Revenue Administration and Tax Policy Review.
Oyedele further highlighted the deliverables from the committee which include: optimum taxes; harmonised revenue collection functions; a revised national tax policy; national fiscal framework; preparation of bills for constitutional amendment; revenue optimisation; production of a model template for sub-nationals and establishment of the national tax amnesty scheme. Membership of the committee cuts across both the public and private sectors.