The immediate past Director-General of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Dr Victoria Akai, while speaking at the dialogue, noted that reforms take time to produce desired results.
She listed immediate and long-term measures to stem the galloping inflation impacting national growth and citizen’s well-being.
In her presentation titled ‘Exploring the Impact of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Economic Reforms on Nigeria: A Comprehensive Review’, Akai urged the president to prioritise supporting local industries to boost export activities.
She said the removal of Nigeria’s foreign currency controls had led to adverse effects on the naira and impacted dollar flows to Nigeria, stating that “Urgent action is required to address this issue to curb the current negative impacts on investment and overall economic stability.
“Short-term policies should focus on implementing robust monetary measures to control inflation and stabilise the currency market, enhancing foreign exchange reserves management, and supporting local industries to boost export activities.
“In the medium term, structural reforms are essential to diversify the economy away from oil dependence and promote non-oil sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing. Long-term policies should prioritise human capital development, technological innovation, and infrastructure enhancement to bolster productivity and competitiveness,” Akai said.
She said tax reforms should be aimed to increase tax revenues while reducing the burden on individuals and businesses, with the goal being to raise the tax-to-GDP ratio by 18 per cent by 2026, which would significantly impact government revenue and the overall economy.
Akai said efforts to reduce Nigeria’s debt burden had been intensified and the NGX market capitalisation had surged by 90 per cent over the past five years.
She noted that mobile broadband subscriptions were expected to reach approximately 38 per cent (138m subscription) by 2026.
She said, “In terms of natural resources, according to Nigeria’s energy review, Nigeria boasts proven oil reserves of 37.1bn barrels and proven gas reserves of 206trn cubic feet. With a population estimated at 220m, Nigeria presents a significant consumer market. Efforts to address external obligations have seen substantial progress, including the clearance of backlogs amounting to $2bn.
“However, challenges such as double-digit inflation rates persist, with an average expected rate of about 23%.
While exchange rate stability is envisioned for Q1’2024, an upward adjustment of the monetary policy rate is anticipated in Q1’2024 followed by a downward adjustment in Q2’2024.
“These projections indicate positive developments in the economy, including increased productivity, higher income levels, improved purchasing power, and growing demand for fast-moving consumer goods.”
On economic gains of the present administration reform, Akai said that as a result of the presidential reforms, the Nigerian economy is growing at a faster pace (3.3%) compared to its population growth (2.6%).
Also, Nigeria’s oil production rose by 9.16% to an average of 1.31mbpd in 2023 primarily due to increased efforts to curb oil theft and investment in oil assets.
“Dangote refinery to guarantee supply of petroleum products, increased productivity due to reduced downtime road, airports, and seaport concessioning.”
On the 2023 Electricity Act, she said that decentralising the electricity generation, transmission and distribution would promote renewable energy and attract private sector investment.
She said a stable exchange rate would attract international investors into the Nigerian equities market; while potential listings of major entities like Dangote refinery and NNPC would strengthen market capitalisation.
She urged the government to tackle insecurity, improve national data integrity and adopt more effective debt management strategies.
She also said that deliberate efforts in rebranding Nigeria’s global image through national orientation campaigns should be strengthened; while policy reforms must be implemented alongside institutional reforms for impact.
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