As the price of crude oil in the international market continues to rise in recent times, Nigeria has not been able to reap appreciable economic benefits.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that price of crude oil, the country’s main revenue generating resource, had been on the increase due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, rising above 100 dollars per barrel.
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But Nigerians continue to grapple with low revenue, depreciating Naira and dependence on debt to finance budget deficits and capital expenditure.
Analysts believe that neglect of the industrial and manufacturing sectors of the Nigerian economy is a major bane of its economic growth.
A financial expert, Okechukwu Unegbu, urged the Federal Government to take urgent steps to revive the manufacturing sector so as to boost the local economy.
Unegbu told the NAN that the absence of a vibrant industrial and manufacturing sector in the country had exacerbated various economic challenges, like rising inflation and an unstable currency (Naira).
According to him, the priority for government and its relevant agencies is to help the industries to start producing again.
“Production and manufacturing of essential goods will stop the dependence on imported goods, and go a long way in revamping the economy and strengthen the Naira.
“The Federal Government should address fundamental dislocations in the country, like boosting investment, reducing unemployment rate and cutting down on inflation,’’ he said.
“The more employment you get, the more tax you will get, and that will boost government’s revenue drive.
“Government should lower the tax rate for more investment and a wider tax volume,’’ he said.
According to Tope Fasua, an economist, the Federal Government should take concrete steps to boost productivity, with strong local content to boost the country’s economy.
Fasua said that a country’s economy could only be as strong as the productivity that underlies it.
“This is talking about the knowledge quotient of the goods and service that a country produces,” he said.
The Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) said Nigeria needed to achieve a paradigm shift in governance and policy design to sustain and accelerate economic growth.
The Chief Executive Officer of the NESG, Laoye Jaiyeola, made the suggestion in the group’s macroeconomic outlook.
He said failure by the Federal Government to embark on the reforms could worsen current economic challenges.
Jaiyeola called for deregulation of the country’s oil sector to boost investments and also save huge government revenue expended on fuel importation.
Meanwhile, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele said the apex bank had increased its funding and interventions in various sectors to boost economic growth.
According to him, the intervention schemes were targeted at stimulating productivity in agriculture; manufacturing and industry, among others.
“Between April and May, the CBN had released N57.91bn under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme to 185,972 new projects for the cultivation of rice, wheat, and maize.
“This brings the cumulative disbursement under the programme to N1.01trn disbursed to more than 4.2 million smallholder farmers cultivating 21 commodities across the country.
The CBN also disbursed N1.50bn under the Accelerated Agriculture Development Scheme to a new youth-led project, piloted and funded through the Government of Ondo State.
This is for the acquisition of assets for oil-palm cultivation and the establishment of poultry farms.
“This brings the total disbursement under the scheme to N21.23bn for 10 state-led and three private sector-led projects,’’ he said.
Emefiele said the bank also released N21.73bn to finance seven large-scale agricultural projects under the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme.
According to him, the funds have been used for the establishment of a ranch and milk processing facility; procurement of feed and medication for livestock and dairy production.
“The funds also went into the construction of a 300 metric-tonne per day oil mill in Gusau, and the acquisition and installation of an agrochemical factory.
“This brings the cumulative disbursement under this scheme to N741.05bn for 674 projects in agro-production and agro-processing,’’ he said. (NAN)
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