AMID rising concerns of the trillions of naira the Federal government spends on subsidising fuel imports, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has called on the President Mugammadu Buhari administration to revisit the issue of subsidy removal before it leaves office in May next year.
The chairman of the NESG, Asue Ighodalo, who made the call today at the ongoing 28th edition of the summit in Abuja, said the government cannot sustain the payment in the face of Nigeria’s current economic situation.
The Federal government has earmarked N3.6 trillion for subsidy payments in 2023, even when it has proposed to borrow N11 trillion to fund 2023 budget deficit.
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International financial institutions like the World Bank, as well as some economists at home had condemned the subsidy option, describing it as “unsustainable”, and regarding it as Nigeria “eating away its future.”
The government’s budget deficit next year is expected to exceed N12.42 trillion if the federal government keeps the petroleum subsidy for the entire 2023 fiscal cycle.
Ighodalo also urged a review of the foreign exchange management to give more certainty to the business community.
Speaking on the theme, ‘2023 and Beyond: Priorities for Shared Prosperity’, the NESG chief maintained that the incoming administration must have a proper understanding of the issues at stake and tackle them appropriately.
Earlier, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, had remarked that the government, though challenged by a shortfall in revenues, had kept its pact by prioritizing capital releases in favour of critical ongoing infrastructural projects in the power, roads, rail, agriculture, health and education sectors.
Ahmed said the government was focused on unlocking the economic potential of the non-oil and high employment generating sectors to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth and development.
Also, the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, said the National Development Plan was designed to lift 35 million people out of poverty and generate 21 million full-time jobs by 2025.
Agba said the plan required the collaboration of the private and public sectors to be actualized.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had on Tuesday November 8, 2022 told a delegation of the NESG, ahead of the summit, that the gathering should focus on few pressing national issues like inflation and exchange rate control.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.