After the razzmatazz of Monday’s Opening Ceremony which fearured a Keynote Speech by the Nigerian tycoon, Tony Elumelu and a rousing address by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (who declared the Conference formally open), the Conference, according to NEWSWIRE Law and Events Magazine’s correspondent in Abuja, got down to business with a session which, expectedly, beamed a searchlight on the economy.
Themed, ‘Getting the Economy Right: Decoding Nigeria’s Strategy for Growth, Diversification, Inclusivity and Sustainability’, the session focused chiefly on the oil sector – the mainstay which provides for 95% of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and 80% of its budgetary revenues – and how to reduce its doninance of Nigeria’s economic fortunes. The panelists also x-rayed the constraints which have traditionally held back Nigeria’s economic potential, such as structural issues, the non-diversification of the economy (inspite of all the lip-service thats been paid to it over the years); inadequate infrastructure, tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade; obstacles to investment ( local and foreign alike); lack of confidence in currency valuation; and limited foreign exchange capacity. In a bid to untangle these bottlenecks, panelists shared their respective insights and experiences on strategic pathways for making the shift from a mono- to a diversified economy by shifting the focus to sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, and tradable services while at the same time proferring solutions to the structural challenges facing Nigeria’s economy.
Moderated by Dr. Reuben Abati (co-Anchor of The Morning Show on Arise Television Session), the session had, as its lead speaker, the new Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Olawale Edun. His Budget and Planning counterpart and immediate past Governor of Kebbi State, HE, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, CON was also on the panel, as were Mr. Adetilewa Adebajo, Chief Executive Officer, CFG Advisory; Mrs. Hansatu Adegbite, Executive Director, Women in Management and Business (WIMBIZ); Mr. Allen Onyema, CON, Chief Executive Officer, Air Peace Limited; and Mrs. Jane Kimemia-Nechi, Chief Executive Officer, Optiva Capital.
While they acknowledged the above-listed constraints and bottlenecks, the distinguished panelists also stressed the need for the involvement of professionals, including lawyers, in making the necessary transition from an economy dominated by oil to other sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and tradable services.
They also expressed confidence in the viability of Diaspora investments (not just in terms of monetary remittances) in different sectors of the economy as another avenue in getting the economy right, and the crucial importance of attracting such investment in an intentional manner.
In his intervention, Onyema of Air Peace noted that Nigeria’s population is her number one asset – which must be harnessed in its totality, without recourse to such primordial considerations as ethnicity, nepotism, partisan affiliation and religion. He called for unity of purpose among the country’s elite and sincerity of purpose on the part of government. The aviation tycoon lamented the country’s poor ease of doing business profile, alleging that government officials often see prospective investors as rivals rather than partners, saying such an attitude will not reverse the unemployment situation in the country.
Mixed reactions have continued to trail President Tinubu’s decision to float the nation’s currency, the naira. While some have commended the federal government for what they see as a bold decision, others have faulted it, pointing out that the policy, along with the removal of fuel subsidy has contributed greatly to the harsh economic situation facing Nigerians. The dollar was at N462 when Tinubu assumed office, but today it stands at about N920. Government, however, has made repeated assurances that in time, the naira would firm up against the dollar and other currencies.
According to NEWSWIRE’s correspondent, this conundrum was the crux of a contribution by the noted human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, who asserted that instead of the FG, it was the actually the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that had the exclusive prerogative of the country’s currency exchange rate. He backed his assertion by quoting from Section 16 of the CBN Act, which he said, gave no room for market forces to fix the exchange rate.
To solve the currency conundrum, he urged the Nigerian government to begin trading (in naira) with countries like the People’s Republic of China, arguing that if the about $22 billion worth of imports from China is transacted in naira, the high demand for dollars which puts pressure on Nigeria’s economy would at least drop to a manageable level – if not cease altogether.
Reiterating his call on NBA to extend its searchlight to economic policy rather than just civil or criminal cases, Falana charged the various branches of the NBA where the nation’s refineries are located to ‘monitor” developments at these refineries, adding that the FG has committed $1.4 billion to the projects in Warri and $1.4 billion to the projects in Port Harcourt refineries respectively – without commensurate returns. In a widely-applauded intervention, the activist advocated the publishing, on a monthly basis, of the details of allocations given to the various states, as well as monies shared among the federal, state and local governments, for the sake of accountability and transparency.
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