Poverty reduction: Economist calls for single digit lending rate, to achieve set goals

A Don, Dr Austine Nwaeze, has called for the reduction of lending rate to single digit, to enable the Federal Government achieve its target of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years.

Nwaeze, who lectures in Economics at the Pan Atlantic University, Lagos made the suggestion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.

The economist said the government should persuade the apex bank to cut down lending rate from 13.5 per cent to single digit, to boost the productive sector.

NAN reports that President Muhammadu Buhari said that the Federal Government will lift at least 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years.

The president said this during his inaugural address for a second term in office on Wednesday in Abuja.

He said his administration would henceforth begin to lay the foundation for accomplishing the poverty reduction goal by offering a leadership with a sense of purpose.

According to Nwaeze, if the Federal Government must achieve such a laudable programme, there is need for more support for the SMEs.

“The monitoring authorities must lower the rate to one single digit to enable commercial banks issue cheaper funds to prospective businesses.

“A single digit rate is what many of the advanced economies of the world adopt to boost their businesses and tackle poverty,” he said.

“The government reforms in the ease of doing business must be sustained to encourage growth, while multiple taxes by the tiers of government should be addressed.”

Nwaeze said that the N5, 000 reduction in the registration fee of businesses should be extended to 2021 from 2020.

He said the government could pull millions of Nigerians out of poverty by implementing many of the innovations from our agricultural research institutes.

According to him, this will encourage more Nigerians to venture into agriculture and make a living out of it, as well as make the country to be food sufficient.

He said that since the President had four years to stay in office, the party should sell the idea to his successor for the policy to be implemented to the letter.

-NAN