Insecurity: Economy in dire straits — Gbajabiamila

By Tordue Salem

If not quickly  addressed, the heightening insecurity in the country will wreck the country’s economy, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has warned.

To stem the tide, Gbajabiamila advised there is need to articulate a national long-term social and economic development framework, with a broad acceptance by critical stakeholders, to provide a pathway towards fixing the malaise that has too long mitigated against attaining the country’s fullest national potentials.

Gbajabiamila, who stated this at a public hearing in Abuja yesterday, said, the House recently considered and adopted motions on the   need for Nigeria to develop a longer term social and economic framework vision and the need to make adequate loans for a post-oil economy in Nigeria. He noted that such a framework would not be a product of politics or a tool for politicking, but a foundation for national rebirth, as had been done successfully in other parts of the world.

The speaker said at present, the country is entirely at the mercy of fluctuations in the global price of oil and gas at a time it was increasingly evident that prices are on a sustained downward trend that is no longer sustainable.

Gbajabiamila   stated that the country must be resolute in its determination and unyielding commitment to overcome the challenges.

He added: “We have a limited window of time to act before worsening circumstances force our hands in ways we cannot predict.

‘’I urge you to move with due haste, paying attention to all the intervening events without being distracted by them.”

Also, the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Mr. Clement Agba, said Nigeria must ensure there was alignment between its economic   plans and     various regional agreements the country has signed.

The minister revealed that the ministry considered many factors in the preparation of the Medium Term National Development Plan, (MTNDP) 2021-2025, and Nigeria agenda 2050. This, he said, included the review of the African Union Agenda 2063 and the Economic Community of West   African States (ECOWAS) vision 2050 and the Sustainable Development   Goals (SDGs) 2030.

“This is to ensure that there is alignment between our plans and these   various regional agreements we have signed into. And we have ensured that with the SDGs, the 17 goals have been merged to be aligned with the 26 Technical Working Groups that we have,” he noted.

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Agba pointed out that the   new plans captured the concentric diversification of the Nigerian economy, both in the oil and non-oil revenue sources through initiatives encapsulated in relevant policies,   programmes and projects of the government in the new plans.

He stated: “The reason for concentric diversification is that often, Nigerians   keep saying  the economy is not diversified, that’s absolutely   incorrect, the Nigeria economy   is diversified.

‘’The problem with our diversification is that it is not concentrating. We keep saying the economy is heavily dependent on oil, yest!, it was   some years   ago when oil was contributing about 70- 80% of revenue and about 95% of our foreign exchange, but today     the non-oil sectors contribute about 55 per cent, which is higher than the contribution of oil to the national revenue.”

The minister, however, said that the oil sector’s contribution to foreign exchange was very high and that with 8.9 per cent contribution to the GDP, any major change in the oil sector has a huge effect on the economy.

Agba added that agriculture currently contributes about   24 per cent to the GDP, while the digital economy was growing very fast and contributing higher than oil at the moment.

“If that is the case, we cannot say the Nigeria economy is not diversified,’’ the minister said.

He added far for sustainable growth and development, in the face of dwindling global resources, Nigeria must focus on removing the binding constraints to its growth prospects.

Chairman of the committee, Abdulganiyu Olododo, said strategic economic development frameworks were integral to achieving sustainable and measurable economic growth, as well as quality human capital and infrastructural development.

He noted that it was a depressing fact that Nigeria, which had been blessed with intellectual, brilliant and gifted minds, excels greatly in coming up with eloquent and masterfully crafted development plans, but ends up coming short during the implementation process.

Vanguard News Nigeria

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