Nigerians should concentrate on governors, says Economist

…warns against return of subsidy

From Lateef Dada, Osogbo

An Economic historian from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, Dr. Tunji Ogunyemi, has called on Nigerians to concentrate on their governors and demand good governance from them.

He also encouraged citizens to participate in the budget process of their state assemblies and insist that their representatives should include them in their budget.

Speaking on a private radio station monitored by our correspondent in Osogbo, Ogunyemi maintained that the only solution against the continuous fall of the naira is for the country to think about exportation.

Ogunyemi also warned against re-introduction of subsidy saying “the country will collapse economically if the subsidy is returned.”

He said, “The truth is that we need to produce more. Is Osogbo machine tools working? Is the Osogbo steel rolling mill working? So where will Osun get the internal tax effort to increase its IGR from N20 billion to N40 billion so that Osun can use only IGR to pay civil servants? But you depend heavily on the federal account allocation committee.

“The wage bill of Osun is N3.6 billion per month while the allocation is about N2.8 billion. This means, every month, Osun is already in a deficit. But now, with the removal of subsidy from petroleum, Osun is now earning significantly and it has more money to share in the federation account.

“So let Nigerians concentrate on their governors now and begin to give them close marking. They should go to the gallery and participate in the budget process. Let your representatives know that you must be included in the budget. Your governor is like presidents in their respective states. Why is everybody talking about the president? Many of the governors have emasculated the local government.