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By Lukman Olabiyi
The candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 Ogun State governorship election, Ambassador Olufemi Oguntoyinbo, has said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency on food security was not enough to tackle poverty in the country.
Oguntoyinbo noted that the President equally needs to declare a state of emergency on all sectors of the economy in order to get to the root of various issues militating against Nigeria’s progress.
The NNPP chieftain stated this during an interactive session with the League of Yoruba Media Practitioners (LYMP) in Lagos.
He said there were many issues contributing to the poverty level in Nigeria, stressing that issues of multiple taxation, electricity, and friendly environment for investors among others, were some of the critical issues that the president must look into.
He attributed the difficulty in setting up companies in Nigeria, and how they fold up easily to the huge taxes being demanded by the government, as well as the absence of basic amenities needed to function successfully.
He equally noted that the formation of industries in Nigeria is not really easy because money that is invested in businesses is not recovered.
According to him, this is as a result of the huge taxes the government demands from the entrepreneurs, even as they (government) fail to provide essential amenities like electricity, good roads, and conducive working environment, among others.
“If a manufacturer comes from abroad, investing his money in this kind of our economy, it is certain it will fold up in no time. That is why you see companies that started with huge sums of money folding up within two to three years, because they lack amenities they ought to get from the government, yet they still have to pay huge taxes.
“It’s been three years since I used electricity generated by the government. I had to tell their officials to remove their cables and let me face elsewhere for electricity generation, since they have not been giving me light. I don’t benefit from anything from the government. I provide my electricity myself, yet I still pay tax. So, what is the government doing for us?
“In other countries, everything has been standardized. No one asks for electricity before it is provided. These things are obstacles for people who want to establish companies in Nigeria,” he said.
Oguntoyinbo advised President Tinubu not only to allow states to generate their electricity, but also to make it competitive among all stakeholders.
He said electricity generation should be competitive just as the telecommunication companies are in Nigeria now. He added that the idea would give room for healthy rivalry to the advantage of the citizenry and company owners.
On his next agenda in politics, he said he would vie for the post of the president of Nigeria in 2027.
