The federal government has been urged to sustain its policies aimed at improving the nation’s economy and well-being of Nigerians, and to create a framework for its social interventions.
Speaking on Monday in Abuja, at the All Civil Society National Economic Summit, the National President, Coalition of Civil Societies, Comrade Etuk Bassey Williams said the federal government has been doing a lot to ameliorate the economic challenges of Nigerians but needed to do more.
He said the whole essence of these efforts by the CBN is to create support for businesses in order to avert recession and headship during and post COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) has called for a legislative framework to back the social investment programmes.
A Taxation Expert and consultant to the AAN, Dr. Abraham Terfa, made the call on Monday in Abuja while presenting the “ActionAid Nigeria Factsheet in Deepening Tax Provisioning for Social Protection of the Poor”, which assessed current social investment programmes.
“There is a need for social investment programmes to have legal backing. Like the Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P), was a social investment programme Nigerians were benefiting from and where subsidies were removed from fuel and was channelled into a fund, and as soon as the administration changed that programme ended.
“Until we have a framework that captures Nigeria’s social investment programmes in general that also spells out a more committed source of funds through tax provisions is likely that Nigeria is going to continue in this wave of trial and error in terms of social investment programmes,” Terfa said.
He added that due to lack of employment for Nigerians between the ages of 15 and 54 people begin to settle for less when they are in their 30-50s, and described the situation as a social time-bomb.
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