By Victor Ahiuma-Young
OWERRI—ORGANISED labour, weekend, in
Owerri, Imo State, urged the political and
economic class to cultivate “a bipartisan and
pan-Nigerian approach” to overcome the
current economic crisis instead of passing
blames and giving excuses.
Speaking on the recently released Quarterly
National Accounts, QNA, of the National
Bureau of Statistics,NBS, at a Central Bank of
Nigeria, CBN, interactive session with
stakeholders in Owerri, General Secretary of
the National Union of Textile, Garment and
Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, NUTGTWN, Mr.
Issa Aremu who doubles as Secretary
General, Alumni Association of National
Institute, AANI, Kuru Jos, observed that “All
Nigerians regardless of their callings are
dammed by the data on rising inflation,
double digit interest rates, factory closures
and general underdevelopment. Nigerians
must collectively confront underdevelopment
instead of giving excuses and blaming each
other.”
On the critical views of the past two governors
of the CBN namely Charles Chukwuma Soludo
and Sanusi Lamido Sanusi on the policy
thrust of Buhari administration comrade
Aremu: said: “The two voices sounded too
familiar, predictable but unhelpful for an
economy begging for solutions,” insisting that
it was time to “work the recovery of Nigeria
based on 1999 constitution’s provision that
says the purpose of governance is welfare and
security of the citizens.
“After 30 years of structural adjustment
programme of privatization, trade
liberalization and currency/financial
liberalization, Nigeria urgently must replace
the current disjointed policies with sustainable
national development agenda consolidated in
various national discourses articulated in
visions 2010, 2020 and 2014 National
conference.”
He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to
through the National Institute for Policy and
Strategic Studies, NIPSS, Kuru Jos consolidate
all the past “patriotic national economic
policies” failing which he said, imposed
prescribed IMF/World bank prescriptions
would further fuel “growth” without
development.
Aremu who is also the Chairman, IndustriALL
Global Union, African Region, argued that
Nigeria had for so long failed to plan making
the country “perpetually preparing to fail”
insisting that it was time the National
Planning Commission be replaced by
functional federal ministry of planning to
ensure implementation of all the policy
recommendations.
Aremu faulted the current policy of CBN on
high interest rate which he called “anti-
production” and urged CBN to relook at its
current monetary policy rate which puts
interest rate at double digit adding that
Nigeria could run a successful productive
value adding economy with the current high
cost of funds caused by high interest rates.
“The good job CBN is doing through its
interventionist measures in some key sectors
of the nation’s economy would be undermined
if the interest rate is not properly managed.
CBN must target capacity utilization and
employment as much as it is “targeting
inflation” in its monetary policy.
The smartest
way to reinflate the economy is through wage
increase linked with productivity improvement
and prompt payment of the existing salaries
by states and local governments. President
Buhari must urgently constitute the tripartite
committee on the review of the current
national minimum wage,” he said.
Nigeria workers he observed have long been in
depression, observing that with Naira
devaluation and inflation, 2010 negotiated
national minimum wage of N18,000 which
was about $120 in 2010 has fallen to $42 in
2016.
While calling for realignment of Nigeria
monetary and fiscal policies to drive
sustainable Development, he hailed the current
spirited efforts of the Governor of the CBN,
Godwin Emefiele to defend the Naira value
through stringent capital control measures in
the face of dwindling external reserves caused
by the collapse of oil price.
He said CBN ban on 41 imported goods and
services from the list of items valid for forex
in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Markets was
desirable for import substitution.
According to him, as part of the
complementary efforts of the monetary
authorities, President Buhari and the Vice
President must quickly hit the ground running
and convoke a stakeholders forum with all the
manufacturers and producers of the 41
banned items with a view to removing the
structuring problems facing them to produce
these items at home.
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