NESG urges public sector to fast-track reforms

The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), an independent, non-partisan think tank organisation, has urged the political class to foster accountability and fast-track economic reforms.

This was revealed at the NESG public lecture and founder’s forum commemorating its 30th anniversary on Thursday at the Lagos Business School.

Lanre Akinbo, a board member of the NESG, said the group will deepen their work as policy interveners rather than just partners with the government.

“Last year, we had engagements with the leading presidential aspirants, which was well received. Henceforth, we will engage with the political class as part of the build-up to the Nigerian Economic Summit, especially at the sub-national levels. We will begin to support with transition materials, and deepen our work as interveners to fast-track execution,” he said.

At the summit, themed ‘In the national interest: Reflecting on the past, reimagining the future, various stakeholders reflected on the founders’ journey, the formation of the group and their efforts towards achieving a better nation.

Niyi Yusuf, chairman of NESG said the NESG said over the past three decades, the group has served as a platform for reforming the Nigerian economic landscape.

“The platform that the NESG presents in the transformation of the Nigerian socioeconomic landscape provides insights on how the future of the NESG should be, how the economic summit process should go, and how we should further engage with policy actors going forward, as a non-profit and a non-partisan policy advocacy group dedicated to fostering a globally competitive, private sector-led and an inclusive Nigerian economy,” he added.

In his address, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos State, said the NESG has been one of the most influential institutions enabling economic reforms in Nigeria for over 30 years.

“Every occasion that the NESG convenes is an opportunity to reimagine the kind of country we want and to pilot the journey to the image we want to see. The summit has built models that any organization seeking to build multi-stakeholder alliance must emulate,” he said.

Also, Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru, managing partner, of Compliance Professionals Plc, said a major future challenge faced by the NESG was building a robust policy that recognised the complexities of Nigerians.

“Recognising the challenges and peculiarities of the Nigerian people, we need to build a policy that transcends all our divides and galvanises all of us to become the fastest-growing breakthrough in the world,” she said.

In the first 15 years of its existence, the NESG set the stage for fostering an open dialogue between the public sector and the private sector, and has since achieved many policy changes, Enase Okonedo, vice chancellor, of Pan Atlantic University, noted.

“If I were to score the NESG based on sustaining open dialogue between the public sector and the private sector, it’ll be a ten. The Vision 2010 also set the stage for economic reform and allowed the CBN to have autonomy today. However, the interventions of the NESG have yet to lead to legislation being passed, although legislation is beyond the scope of the NESG,” she said.