Analysts urge government to address key drivers of economic growth

Economic analysts have called on President Mohammadu Buhari and his economic team to devise strategy to deal with the long-term adjustments in oil subsidies, in power and currency, positing that these are key drivers of the economy.

The analysts observe that once the economy is in equilibrium in terms of oil subsidies, power and currency there will a massive traction of growth.

Zeal Akaraiwe, CEO, Graeme Blaque, in a panel discussion at the annual economic business meeting organised by Rand Merchant Bank in Lagos, observes that as an economy, Nigeria is in a bad shape occasioned by the country’s dependent on oil, governmental policy, especially around monetary policy and the dip in foreign reserve.

“We have major foreign exchange crisis, job crisis, power. For some reason, we have not agreed as a nation to solve the power problem,” Akaraiwe says, therefore urging the government to address the issue of education, which is both important and urgent.

Michael Larbie, CEO/regional head, West Africa, Rand Merchant Bank, reiterates that the Nigerian economy is experiencing slow GDP growth.

According to Larbie, “We are facing a period of slow economic growth and is pin by global economic fall in oil prices, trade restrictions that have been implemented in Nigeria as a result of the oil fail.”

He is optimistic that with the Buhari administration putting forward the economy, with the budget being passed, the implementation of the budget will lead to a better growth.

“We are optimist that in 2016, we will see a higher growth, maybe a 3.5 percent compare to what we got in 2015. We need to eliminate a lot of the red tapes that prevent things from being done. In the long term, fighting corruption is not a winning recipe; we need to balance fighting corruption with the appropriate long-term policies that allow for balance actual processes,” he says.

Bismarck Rewane, CEO, Financial Derivatives, on his part, observes that three distortions to economic activities in Nigeria are oil, petroleum sector, currency and power.

Rewane therefore urges government to have a strategy to deal with the long-term adjustment, stressing that once the economy is in equilibrium in terms of oil subsidies, power and currency, we will experience massive transaction of growth.