Oloyede seeks policies to accelerate economic recovery, address poverty

 

The Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Professor, Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede has advocated strong economic policies that will help accelerate development and sustainable growth.

He also challenged the media to join hands in nation building by supporting ongoing efforts towards tackling the problem of insecurity, kidnapping and other vices and crises that have conspired to rob the country of realizing its potential in productivity, economic growth and development.

Oloyede, who was the Chairman of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers GOCOP 7th Annual Conference in Abuja, said on Thursday that these vices had contributed significantly to the rising level of poverty, loss of assets, weakened capacity to earn and reduction of purchasing power.

He therefore urged the new administration, newly elected and appointed persons at various levels of government to work towards the nation’s economic recovery and launch the nation on a path of sustainable growth and development.

He decried the present tremendous pressure in the country and the excruciating socio-economic environment.

Speaking on the on the theme of the conference “Nigeria: Roadmap for Socio-economic Recovery and Sustainability”, Oloyede  noted that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) though positive, has been growing at a declining rate over time.

“The GDP growth was 5.01% during Q2, 2021 compared with a growth of 2.51% during Q2, 2023. Similarly, inflation rate worsened as it increased from 19.64% in July 2022 to 24% by July 2023.

“Much more worrisome is the value of the Naira. It has now depreciated to above N700/$1.00 in the official market and above N1,000/$1.00 at the parallel market. These economic phenomenal have further put pressure on the well-being of Nigerians,” he said.

According to him, although the new administration at the federal level has started with some bold actions and decisions, aiming at addressing the unfortunate circumstances we have found ourselves, some fundamental decisions and actions that have been taken so far have further exacerbated and plummeted our path deeper to increased poverty.

“The removal of fuel subsidy and the attempt to harmonise the foreign exchange rates have further fueled inflation and general increase in price level, with attendant negative impact on disposable income and standard of living. We understand that some of these decisions are long overdue because the whole fuel subsidy and foreign exchange market regimes were not sustainable and were laced with leakages, rent seeking and massive corruption. It is hoped that in the medium term, the new policies will help in turning around the economy and put us on the path of sustainable growth and prosperity. But we need to do much more overhauling,” he said.

He therefore called on the federal government to address the issue of wages as the compensation structure in the public service deserves a total review and overhaul.

“Unless we are pretenders, we all know that some things do not just add up in the compensation of public servants and most of the public office holders. For example, the minimum wage, as a take-home pay, cannot take anyone home at this time in our economic history. Considering the ever-increasing price level and the national currency devaluation, both of which have led to a spiral inflationary level, wages at all levels have become inadequate to meet the provision of basic needs of life for so many.

“In another dimension, there is a wide gap in the compensation structure between the public and private sectors in Nigeria. While private sector executives are well remunerated in line with their output and dictates of their offices, the same thing cannot be said for public officers. In fact, salaries of most chief executives of the publicly quoted companies and some government agencies in Nigeria are higher than the emolument of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Similarly, salaries of some ministers are lower than those of the chief executives of some agencies and institutions under their supervision.

“There is a lot to do to rejuvenate the economy. One way is to pay a commensurate remuneration for a commensurate work. With good, adequate and competitive compensation structure in the public sector, the system can attract good hands. I believe that paying the right wages in the public sector is one way to improve productivity of workers.

“Furthermore, I propose the strengthening of governance in public corporations, publicly listed companies and non-governmental organisations, NGOs. I believe that the leadership of these entities require greater scrutiny that would ensure that the interest of their stakeholders are served. I am aware that there is a strong code of corporate governance for licensed financial institutions, publicly listed enterprises and entities of public interest. The code of corporate governance, released into circulation by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, FRCN, in 2018 together with the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standard, IFRS, have assisted in curbing the incidence of corruption in the affected entities, and it is helping to create value and wealth for the stakeholders, especially innocent members of the public who subscribe to the shares of these entities in the marketplace.

“I recommend that the code of corporate governance be extended to all major actors in the Nigerian economy. In specific, government should come out, without further delay with code of corporate governance and make it mandatory for public sector institutions, non-governmental organisations, NGOs, and small and medium enterprises that represent over 97% of businesses operating in Nigeria. When this is done, I believe there would be improvement in governance of government, non-governmental and private entities in Nigeria, which would help to unlock their values for prosperity of Nigerians and sustainable development of the country,” he said.

He added that both the media and the economists have very crucial roles to play towards a more sustainable and developed society.

‘It is important that our economists should not shut their eyes to the many alternatives to the template of Bretton Woods’s institutions. Not few persons believe that some austerity measures and curtailment of our high taste for foreign products are absolutely necessary in view of the current realities.

“So it is necessary for me to remind all of us about the place of the media in development. A country with an effective and strong media stands a better chance of attaining sustainable development. So as we scramble to remake our country, government must take deliberate steps to partner with the Nigerian media with a view to making them more credible and sustainable.

“If we are to attain the socio-economic and political progress we badly need, we cannot treat the media as adversaries and as entities whose health or ill-health shouldn’t concern us. The presence of the Presidency of Nigeria at this occasion convinces me that we are on the right path towards effective government-media partnership. On the other hand, the media should not deliberately undermine national security,” he added.