| Nigeria Economy |    1891 VIEWS  |
| Nigeria Economy | |
| 1891 VIEWS | |
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Monday,
January 11, 2020 / 10:00AM / Ottoabasi Abasiekong for WebTV / Header Image
Credit: WebTVNG
The
Federal Government's management of the COVID-19 pandemic from containment
strategies, roll out of vaccines, guaranteeing the security of the nation from
insurgency, and the implementation of the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP),
will be critical to Nigeria's recovery from an recession. Professor Akpan Ekpo
an economist and public policy analyst said this at in a recent discussion on
Nigeria's Fiscal strategy in 2021.
According
to him the stabilization of the nation's economy and the ability to attract new
investments hinged primarily on an improved security situation in the country
and the appropriate fiscal incentives. He emphasized the need for the Federal
Government to give priority to fiscal incentives for small businesses,
mid-sized companies and young entrepreneurs who were innovative and talented.
Looking
at the 2021 budget of roughly N13.6trn he expressed concerns over the
huge size of debt servicing which was for the fiscal year N3.3trn, stressing
the need for effective implementation of the January to December budget cycle
with special attention being paid to debt management.
He
called on the fiscal authorities to strengthen the policy framework in a way
that would ensure that the country does not return to the era of ballooning
debts, which was the experience of the country before 1999.
The
economist lauded the Economic Sustainability Plan which focuses on Mass
Housing, Solar/Renewable Energy Provisions, Information and Communications
Technology, MSME support amongst others but called for its speedy
implementation, to reflate the economy.
In the
area of monetary policy, he acknowledged the role the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) to support the economy, but insisted that there should be alignment with
fiscal policy.
Professor
Ekpo alluded to the fact that Nigeria's budget 2021 should provide effective
support for households, as was the case in western countries like the United
States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan.
He
stressed the fact that the execution of capital projects in the budget covering
the infrastructure in 2021, would go a long way in opening up more economic
opportunities for Nigerians and attract more foreign direct investment (FDI).
Speaking
further on the budget, he called on the fiscal authorities to explore how the
country could move towards achieving a non-oil budget economy or what amounts
to a situation that de-emphasizes the crude oil benchmark.
Considering
the current state of dependence on crude oil as the major revenue earner in the
country, the scholar noted that the 2021 international oil price will be
critical to the economy. According to him if it remains around US$50 price it
would have beneficial impact.
He
joined other economists, analysts, technocrats and NGOs to call on the Federal
and State Governments to think seriously about cutting down their respective
overhead costs in the 2021 fiscal year.
For further enquiries or comments on this news story contact Ottoabasi.abasiekong@proshareng.com.
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