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Chinwendu Obienyi
To achieve the desired level of strong economic growth and prosperity as well as improve on the performance of key sectors of the Nigerian economy, some experts have advocated structural reforms in the system.
This was the view of experts at the 14th edition of the Afrinvest Banking Sector Report Launch titled “Beyond the precipice: Pulling back from the brink which held in Lagos yesterday.
Speaking at the event, Managing Director, Afrinvest West Africa Limited, Ike Chioke, explained that the current adminstration is facing challenges in key sectors of the economy adding that the Federal Government needs to reduce the level of borrowing, subsidy petrol consumption, reduce the cost of governance and priortise more infrastructures.
Chioke said, “We spend so much on capital vote while our budget which is about N2-2.5 trillion every year, ends up with say N2.8 trillion. Over the last ten years, we have budgeted over N7 trillion and spent about 55 per cent of that in a disorganised manner.
For example if we plan to spend $110 billion, then we need to organise the infrastructural spend year-on-year. A road which will cost N50 billion and will be done in 18 months, the money will be there instead of allocating N1 billion every three years to that particular road. We need to start using our intelligence efficiently as this would mean that the government will not have to keep borrowing just to spend money on infrastructures”.
Also speaking Partner and Chief Economist, PwC Nigeria, Andrew Nevin, noted that structural changes are needed to fix some of the challenges facing the economy. He said, “The entire state spending of all three levels of government is about N14 trillion naira and when the interest payment is taken out, you have N12 trillion and by my calculation, that is about N60,000 per Nigerian. It is therefore impossible to get the basic infrastructures on that kind of amount as a Nigerian”.
