ERSTWHILE Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Rev. Tunde Lemo, yesterday, recommended five nuggets for President Muhammadu Buhari to put the nation’s economy on the path of sustained growth and inclusive development, revealing how former governors were opposed to Federal Government’s decision to save excess crude revenue.
Speaking at the 61st annual
Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria National Conference lecture, entitled: The
Nigerian Economy: The Past, Present and the Future, the former CBN deputy
governor said past state governors had on several occasions arm-twisted the
executive, insisting that revenue accruing from oil should be immediately
shared among states, instead of saving it in Excess Crude Account initiated by
former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
According to Lemo, the five
suggestions for the way forward include restructuring, including fiscal
consolidation; diversification of the economy; lifestyle changes and inclusive
growth; investment in infrastructure and competitiveness, stressing that the
road ahead was certainly rough.
Noting that the problems the country
is currently facing are not insurmountable, Lemo said: “During some of
the Federal Executive Council sessions, where I was present, the issue of
saving funds generated from the sales of excess crude came up, but most of the
governors at the time firmly opposed the idea.
“They opposed it so that more money
could be available to fund many bogus budgets at state levels, often arguing
that there was no need for saving for the rainy day, since, as some of them
said, the day was already rainy.
“They insisted that the funds be
shared among the states.
Unfortunately, it greatly depleted the funds the
Federal Government tried to save.”
No comments:
Post a Comment