Government should give manufacturing priority when allocating foreign currency, according to NECA

According to the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, given the ongoing forex shortage, priority should be given to allocating available foreign exchange to the manufacturing and other productive sectors of the economy.
When discussing the status of the economy recently in Lagos, the Director-General of NECA, Mr. Wale Oyerinde, advocated for a comprehensive and multifaceted strategy to address the problems the country was facing.
In a statement, he urged the federal government to stimulate the construction of modular refineries as a necessary step before completely eliminating subsidies.
Oyerinde declared “In the medium term, the Federal Government should, as a matter of urgency, fix the four national refineries and encourage the development of modular ones as a precursor to total removal of fuel subsidy.
“With over N5tn budgeted for subsidy payment in 2022, an amount larger than the budget for education and agriculture, this is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“Economic interventions aimed at improving living standards (to stimulate consumption) and enterprise sustainability (to promote job creation) should be implemented. While forex scarcity persists, allocation of the available forex to manufacturing and other productive sectors of the economy should be given priority.”
The government should strengthen its relationship with the organized private sector, according to Oyerinde, who also praised the administration’s efforts to revive the economy.
He spoke, “The nation is currently faced with multiple challenges. With dire combination of spiraling inflation, rising energy cost (aviation fuel, diesel, etc.), scarcity of forex, dwindling value of the naira, an almost comatose aviation sector, stuttering education system, rising debt, depleting foreign reserve and rising fuel subsidy expenses among others, which threatens to lay bare the country’s economy.
“There is no better time for government to reappraise current economic policies and deepen its engagement with the Organized Private Sector. While Government’s effort to salvage the economy is commendable, there is, however, need for a more holistic approach to resuscitate the stuttering economy.”

GOGAN Media.