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Tag: economic recovery

Bumpy road to economic recovery

The Economic Recovery and Growth Plan targets to grow the economy by seven per cent and reduce unemployment to 11.23 per cent by 2020, among other ambitious targets. But, despite being in the second half of its implementation period, key deliverables of the four-year plan (2017-2020) are yet to manifest. Inadequate infrastructure particularly electricity supply, lull in economic activities ahead of next month’s elections, among other risks, are said to be threatening to scuttle its realisation. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

It was long awaited, but when President Muhammadu Buhari finally unveiled the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) in April 2017, the much-anticipated economic recovery roadmap held promises of changing the economy’s growth trajectory.

For instance, the ERGP, which is a medium term plan, covering a period of four years (2017 to 2020), specifically set an ambitious target to grow the economy by 2.19 per cent in 2017 and subsequently, seven per cent in 2020.

The 140-page document also seeks to reduce unemployment from 13.9 per cent as at Q3 2016, to 11.23 per cent by 2020. This translates to the creation of over 15 million jobs or an average of 3.7 million jobs per annum.

The ERGP, which is a medium-term structural reform to diversify the economy, including expanding the nation’s power sector infrastructure, also envisaged that electricity supply will continue to grow, hitting 10, 000 megawatts (MW) by 2020.

It was also hoped that the ERGP will return the economy to sustainable, inclusive and diversified growth, and transform Nigeria from an import-dependent to a producing economy; a country that grows what it eats and consumes what it produces.

On the strength of ERGP’s implementation, Nigeria ought to have reduced petroleum product imports by 60 per cent in 2018. And by 2020, Africa’s largest economy is expected to become a well-diversified economy having multiple streams of revenue.

The economic recovery plan broadly targeted the restoration of growth, human capital development and a globally competitive economy. This was in an effort to combat recession and reposition the economy on the path of sustained growth.

It aimed to achieve these by focusing on five execution priorities namely, stabilising the macroeconomic environment, achieving agriculture and food security, and ensuring energy efficiency (especially in power and petroleum products).

Other execution priorities include improving transportation infrastructure and driving industrialisation, primarily through the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

But, with Nigeria already in the second half of ERGP implementation period, most of its key deliverables are yet to manifest. Rather, a number of formidable risks may have been tossed on its path, fuelling fears that the plan’s strategic targets may not be realised.

Some of the risks includethe persistent crisis in the Electricity Supply Industry (ESI); inflation rate, which might slightly increase due to electioneering spending resulting from heightened political activities and lack of proper policy coordination.There is also the fear over late passage of the 2019 budget.

The ERGP, which exited both the government and members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS), projected that inflation rate will trend downwards to a single digit by 2020. But with government spending expected to go up this election year, this could fuel inflation rather than spur growth.

For instance, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), expressed fear that with next month’s general elections, distractions from political activities may slow down infrastructure spending, which will adversely affect the performance of the real sector whose operations rely heavily on supportive infrastructure.

MAN also expressed worries that technically, from the observed trends in the Nigerian budget cycle, the 2019 budget proposal might undergo late passage and the resultant negative effect on the overall economic ambience of the country might be colossal for an economy whose current growth rate is still fragile.

The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) is also worried. Its National President, Chief Alaba Lawson, said the Chamber looks forward to the prompt passage and implementation of the programmes and capital projects outlined in the 2019 budget.

Lawson, who lauded the increased allocation to capital projects, also applauded the Federal Government and the National Assembly for ensuring that the budget cycle returns to the January to December period.

She, however, expressed concerns about the implementation of the budget, noting that late implementation of the budget will have negative effects on the execution of capital projects.

ERGP threatened by rising

unemployment

Barely a year to the end of ERGP’s delivery timeline, Nigeria is nowhere close to achieving its target of reducing the high unemployment rate. While the document targets to reduce the unemployment scourge to 11.23 per cent next year, latest figures from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) paint a disturbing picture of the scourge.

While the ERGP targets to create over 15 million jobs or an average of 3.7 million jobs per annum, the NBS “Labour Force Statistics Report for Q3, 2018” showed that 20.9 million Nigerians are unemployed; around 7.7 million have been unemployed for a period ranging from one to three years, with a rate of 90 per cent still looking for a first job.

Specifically, the report showed an unemployment rate of 23.1 per cent for Q3, 2018, compared to unemployment rate of 18.8 per cent at the same time last year. How the managers of the economy hope to reduce the unemployment rate from 23.1 per cent to 11.23 per cent between now and next year remains to be seen.

But as Lawson pointed out, “The rise in unemployment from 18.8 per cent in 2017 to 23.1 per cent in 2018 underscored the need for intensified innovative policy actions to combat unemployment.”

She said this will entail various measures including support for vocational training; industrial attachments and more efforts in job-creating infrastructure and development.

Lawson said these measures have become necessary because “high unemployment among the youth increases the incentives for them to join criminal gangs and network, including radical and extremists groups and also acts as a push factor for illegal migration to foreign countries.”

Electricity crisis is spanner

in the works

Of all the issues hurting the ERGP’s implementation and making the realisation of its set objectives almost impossible, the persistent crisis in the nation’s ESI is perhaps, the most formidable.

Although, the ERGP recognised the fundamental role of power to the development of all sectors of the economy, Nigeria has not made much progress in boosting electricity supply to homes and businesses.

Her plan to expand the power sector infrastructure and achieve 10, 000MW by 2020 has come under threat. For instance, the nation’s installed power generation capacity is put at 12,000MW, but actual output stood at about 5,207.57MW as at December 26, 2018.

This is barely enough to power an economy as big as Nigeria’s particularly one that recently exited a debilitating recession, requiring an adequate, steady and reliable electricity supply to boost the real sector’s productivity and competitiveness.

Although, the crisis in the ESI partly prompted the need to ride on the back of the ERGP to put the economy back on the path of sustainable growth, chances of significantly increasing the current output between now and next year appear slim.

The Director-General of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr. Muda Yusuf, said the power situation continues to pose severe challenges to private sector operators, impacting adversely on productivity.

“Throughout last year, we received complaints across sectors about high energy costs especially high expenditure on diesel, higher cost of and scarcity of gas, and payment demand by electricity distribution companies (DisCos) for power not supplied,” he said.

Yusuf further stated that the situation continued to take its toll on the bottom line of investors and SMEs, adding that some real sector companies reported that they spend as much as 20-25 per cent of their total operating cost on provision of alternative power supply and payment to DisCos.

The LCCI chief, who emphasised that the provision of power remained at the heart of the ease of doing business in Nigeria, however, noted the government’s efforts in addressing the perennial power supply shortage and the deeper commitment to alternative sources of power including off-grid initiatives.

Lawson noted that a lot of work was required to improve infrastructure, particularly power supply. She, therefore, said the Federal Government must redouble efforts in improving infrastructure, such as power, roads and rails, as well as its efforts at improving the ease of doing business.

The NACCIMA boss commended the ERGP Focus Labs, SME Clinics and the various Executive Orders aimed at making the business environment friendly for operators and investors.

She pledged NACCIMA’s continued support of the government and all stakeholders working to create and sustain an enabling business environment for the real sector against the background of the ERGP.

Tracking ERGP’s achievements

But it is not entirely a tale of woes for the ERGP’s implementation. While there are doubts over the realisation of its objectives within its stipulated timeline, some milestones have been recorded.

One of them was the launch of the ERGP Focus Labs to fast-track the plan’s implementation.The ERGP Focus Labs is a targeted six-week intervention that brings together all stakeholders to identify bureaucratic bottlenecks impacting medium-scale and large-scale investments in Nigeria and then generate ideas and resources to resolve them.

The first phase of such labs was held in Abuja, from March 12 to April 22, 2018. At the sessions led by Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, investors were said to have left the focus labs convinced that they were the better for it. Investors received all the assistance they require to overcome the teething problems that are usually associated with business startups.

For instance, one of the outcomes of the focus labs was investors’ realisation that the transformation of the agro-allied sector for the objective of achieving self-sufficiency in food production and export was possible.

Investors in this sector were said to have formed strategic partnerships that would boost their businesses in terms of identification of funding opportunities, increase in capacity utilization and marketing.

Similarly, investors in manufacturing, especially Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) were exposed to opportunities that exist for them to unlock their potential, grow their businesses and contribute to building an economy that would compete with the industrialised economies of the world.

The focus labs identified projects that can boost commercial and industrial development, employment generation with positive impact on families, local sufficiency and export for the much needed foreign exchange, and also contribute to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth.

Osinbajo summed up the success of the exercise when he announced that it had identified private-sector projects worth about $22.5 billion – and with a potential for 500,000 jobs (in agriculture, transportation, manufacturing and processing, power and gas) – for unlocking by 2020.

January 18, 2019
Unraveling execution trap as challenge to Nigeria’s economic recovery
The jury is still out on the status of the economic recession that hit the country very hard since 2015. The report on the news is that Nigeria has been in economic recession for five consecutive quarters now without relent. No one needs to be convinced again about the untold hardship that the recession implies for Nigerians in terms of the rising cost of living and the plummeting poverty figures. Employment spaces shrank terribly, and more Nigerian youths were thrown overboard into unemployment, brigandage and criminality. The economic problems have also been compounded by rising security concerns having to do with the Boko Haram insurgency that has refused to go away in spite of concerted responses from the Nigerian government. Kidnapping has been on the increase, and the Fulani herders’ story has become a particularly unfavorable addition to the growing economic troubles of the Nigerian state.

There have been reports of a steady but slight improvement in GDP growth, but the statistics are way off any consideration of significant economic growth that could provide succour for Nigerians. Not surprisingly, the continued negative growth of the economy has been ascribed to the regular fluctuations in the dynamics of the oil sector. Nigeria, since the discovery of oil, has remained unhealthily monocultural, and therefore subjected to the various and varying troubles that have afflicted the global price of oil. Nigeria’s foreign reserves have dipped dangerous because of the steady drop in the international oil price. This has been aggravated by the threat posed by militancy in the Niger Delta, and the constant harassment of the oil wells that disrupts economic flows. In fact, the economic recession was essentially a function of Nigeria’s unhealthy dependence on commodity products like crude oil, and the implications of global fluctuations on these products as well as Nigeria’s low saving culture when there was an oil windfall. This is further aggravated by the infrastructural deterioration that has made Nigeria one of the worst places for doing business on the globe.

There is no doubt that attention has often been placed on the search for an alternative sustainable and inclusive model of development that will enable serve as a growth strategy for national economic recovery. This is indeed the appropriate framework for Nigeria’s way out of its economic predicament. However, the problem with the various recommendations for such an economic recovery and growth strategy has always been that they conceive of the solution outside of the larger institutional dynamics and frameworks that gave rise to it in the first place. In other words, we cannot begin to address the economic recession and sundry economic predicament outside of the larger issues of infrastructure, financial and government revenue reforms that are required urgently to reconfigure the Nigerian state. Recovering the economy of Nigeria must derive from a large list of significant but connected reform matters that seeks to intervene in the economic predicament from different bur related dimensions. I outline seven of such crucial concerns here: a) Engendering economic diversification, job creation and inclusive growth; b) Conversion of government illiquid to liquid assets and reduction of budget deficit and debt servicing; c) Espousing a less fractious intergovernmental fiscal relationship and a more coordinated national development agenda; d) Re-imagining the role of oil resources in national development; e) The role of fiscal, monetary and exchange rate policies in the post-recession economy; and f) Maintenance of beneficial external relations and foreign policy.

What strings all these ideas and strategies into a unique reform dynamics that can rejuvenate and sustain Nigeria’s economic buoyancy is simply the availability of a critical attention to public service reform that will eventually strengthen the implementation capability of government institutions to implement policy recommendations and management. The public service as the institution with the responsibility for upholding the governance mandate of the Nigerian state presently lacks the capability readiness to pursue an efficient and effective policy execution that will translate into a democratic service delivery to Nigerians. Indeed, history seems to be repeating itself because we now seem to concentrate so much energy and resources on policy design and planning without equal attention directed at the implementation capability of government institutions and their reform. The deadly consequence is that Nigeria daily witness a gradual but steady decline in its national productivity level in a way that undermines economic stability and performance. For instance, several government institutions have been eroded by an adversarial industrial relations logic that vitiate their productivity profile while sending a very wrong signal to investors about the productive value of the business environment. But the labour unions have a point. Payroll is not the only drain on cost of governance. We should unbundle the entire expenditure streams of government for efficiency savings overall, so government could come to equity with clean hands when downsizing and offloading ‘deadwoods’ and the redundants in the workforce. Thus, accelerating the growth in the economy will make no sense if the public service as the implementation hub is not reformed and adequately activated to serve as a critical backstop for transformative growth in the economy.

Nigeria’s national productivity dynamics stands at the very core of Nigeria’s economic recovery project. In other words, any recovery strategy must be targeted at rebooting the system in a manner that injects new life into government institutions. The national productivity paradigm therefore centers the institutional reform awareness that Nigeria urgently requires to become a viable global economic force. And the commencement of that reform is the paradigm shift in the national productivity profile. Unfortunately, this paradigm shift cannot be achieved successfully except Nigeria deals decisively with the execution trap that has bedeviled it since independence. This trap speaks to the inability to push policy through from design to implementation in a way that impacts governance. Development outcomes are more dependent on execution than visioning, strategic plan and all the big picture concerns at a ratio of 85/15 per cent. To appreciate the critical essence of the gap between policy and outcome, our issue is a case of an administrative transformation that must of necessity be propelled by a bureaucracy with a jet engine, but is actually powered by the engine of a Beatle car. Since government’s governance effort will be measured in terms of what is achieved rather than what it undertakes, the issue of execution involves the balancing of doing the right thing with doing it right which is conditioned not just by the legendary Nigerian Factor but by the breakdown of institution as mix of structures and values.

Let us consider some instances that drive home the point that connects productivity to the capability readiness of the public service to deliver on goods and services. First, there is the recurrent issue of waste management and redundancy in the Nigerian economy, aligned with a national maintenance culture model. There is no doubt that the workforce of the public service in Nigeria is over-bloated. There are so many people doing so little and so little doing the significant work. For anyone that truly understands the challenges confronting the public service, especially the need to put in place a performance management system, it becomes immediately obvious why there must first be a redundancy management framework that will make it possible for the injection of new talents in the wake of the downsizing of the institution. The overall vision, however, is better resource allocation and utilization efficiency through national assets optimization and performance with increased quantum of composite value added as local content and efficient maintenance system. A robust master data of national assets and their regular profiling along lines of cascaded maintenance schedule that is a component of scorecards for top public managers is imperative. It does mean that assets maintenance would be a significant proportion of the top management KPIs. It would however help if there is a vigorously enforced national policy and quality control benchmarks for budget allocation that reflects national assets status and maintenance audit reports. A centrally coordinated dashboard managed with the involvement of NGOs and professional bodies would need to be developed to report on KPIs around national assets maintenance and performance across sectors of the economy.

On the other hand, there is equally the corollary urgent need to block revenue leakages arising from government agencies’ involvement in capital projects. One fiscal consequence of this is that their involvement reduces the revenue accruing to the federal government at the end of each fiscal year. However, if government ensures the transfer of capital projects away from its agencies, this will have the advantage of increasing the revenues that each agency is able to remit.

Making the public service functional and achieving a paradigm shift in Nigeria’s productivity profile are necessarily part of a larger governance reform project that consolidates the public service reform by providing other institutional reforms—electoral reforms, anti-corruption reforms, security reforms, infrastructural reform, and so on—that facilitate the efficiency of service delivery to the people. The reform of the anti-corruption mechanism is particularly urgent in this governance context because corruption, by its very nature, is anti-developmental. In fact, the efforts geared towards taking the civil service to the next level cannot in any way be divorced from combating corruption, either political or bureaucratic. In the first place, political corruption makes it possible that significant reforms do not even take off because those who have the capacity to give it political backing are already hamstrung by powerful interests. On the other hand, bureaucratic corruption is defined by the replacement of the virtue of deferred gratification in the name of service by the culture of immediacy. The instant effect is that the civil service not only lost its reputation as a noble and spiritual vocation, but there crept into the system the unbridled desire to undermine it processes, procedures and ethos in the bid to satisfy selfish desires. And so, the very people who ought to be at the forefront of reforming the system became the worst opposition to it. The first order of business of the anti-corruption reform is to strengthen the structure and processes of service delivery in the public service by transforming the transparency and accountability components of all reform management and implementation. The anti-corruption campaign is to be backed up by effective anti-corruption agencies, and education emphasizing the importance of ethical conduct and integrity. The anti-corruption reform therefore ties all the other governance reform into an effective framework of development and a developmental state in Nigeria.

In the final analysis, one of the direct consequences of the reform of the governance and administrative structures and institutions of the Nigerian state should be the adequate diversification of the Nigerian economy away from its unhealthy dependence on the oil sector. Economic diversification only speaks to a state’s creative capacity to read the time and adjust its development strategies accordingly. For instance, beyond commodity products, global economies are now adjusting to the implications of the emerging knowledge society. A proactive diversification scheme becomes a foregone conclusion when the public service has achieved the required capacity readiness to deliver on the mandate of democratic governance that will enable the Nigerian state cultivate other economic possibilities that can complement oil.
- Olaopa, Executive Vice-Chairman,
Ibadan School of Government and Public

Policy (ISGPP) Ibadan

tolaopa2003@gmail.com

tolaopa@isgpp.com.ng
February 11, 2018
2018: Cleric predicts economic recovery

The General Evangelist of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) worldwide, Prophet Hezekiah Oladeji, has said Nigeria will recover, this year, from hardship to recovery.

Oladeji, who said the restoration of the country’s lost glory would be great, noted that being on the same page with God and seeking His face in prayers and exhibiting love for the country and its people were crucial for a breakthrough.

The cleric spoke during the maiden edition of the yearly New Year Prophetic Declarations and Prayer programme, tagged: Second Announcement, which held at Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola Memorial Grounds at Ikeji Arakeji in Osun State.

He said: “Nigeria will be on its feet once again. The comeback will be with great prosperity.”

Oladeji urged Nigerians to be focussed on addressing issues that would take the country out of its present confusion, troubles, strife and hard times.

He said: “We need to focus, make broad projections and hope for the best. The projections must be greater than those existing among couples, families, towns, cities and churches. We need targets, plans and projections that are not self-centred.

“Nigeria will be great again. God will return to the country and return the days of milk and honey. God will help the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to set the people free from hardship and slavery. We should not forget God because no breakthrough is possible without Him. God is the pathway to glory and He is the one we should follow.”

The CAC leader led a multitude of faithful for prayers to choose leaders who would prioritise the people’s welfare, needs and the development of the country.

He said this year is crucial for preparations ahead of the February 2019 general elections.

Oladeji, who made case for restoration of great soul-winning revivals in Christendom, advised CAC members to unite to dislodge what he called the kingdom of darkness.

January 3, 2018
We’ll sustain momentum of economic recovery, says FG

The Federal Government has said it will not rest on its oars but sustain and maintained momentum of the various initiatives put in place for economic recovery.

Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President Mr. Laolu Akande stated this Thursday while addressing the Fourth Economic Communication Workshop for selected journalists at the Treasures Hotels and Suites, Abuja.

The theme of the workshop was: “Budget, Presidential Executive Orders and Industrial Competitiveness as enablers of economic growth”.

Although the country is not yet where government wants it to be, Akande said President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo are determined to ensure full economic growth for the country.

“A lot more is going to happen and the momentum is gathering for economic reforms. This leadership is committed to change and reform. We hope to wrap up and make impact on the people economically,” he stressed.

He said there will be more diversification towards the non-oil sector of the economy next year and that government expects more revenue from this sector than from the oil sector.

Akande noted that it was in recognition of what the government achieved through its various reforms that made the World Bank to rank Nigeria among the 10 most reforming countries of the world.

Asked why government was requesting loans in spite of huge funds recovered from looters of the nation’s treasury, Akande said not much has been recovered to stop government from taking these concessionary loans that are meant for infrastructural growth.

He, however, explained that there is a line in the yearly budget, like in 2017 and 2018 where government stated how much it is expecting to get from the recovered loot but that it is put back in the budget as income.

He gave assurance that the whistleblower in respect of the Osborne, Ikoyi funds will be paid before the end of next week, notwithstanding it will be the largest pay-out to be made by the Federal Government.

“The integrity of the whistleblowing programme is very important to us and we will not do anything not to scuttle it.

“There is so much difference between this government and the last. This is one government that is doing so much with much less,” he said.

The vice4 president’s spokesman said government is going to improve on the ease of doing business in the country.

He said this explains why Vice Osinbajo has been going round the country so that government agencies can see themselves as facilitators so that small-scale industries can do well in business.

The Senior Special Adviser to the Vice President said the Home Grown Feeding Scheme of the government is now operating in 19 states and involving about four million school children, adding that the target is to attain five million school children by the end of the year.

He said to date, no fewer than 267,000 small-scale enterprises (SMES) have been engaged while another 98,000 have been formalised by government.

He said the uncertainties in the economy led to the collapse of the capital market in the past.

“But the situation today is that Nigeria has become investors’ destination as efforts by government continue to attract investors. We would see inflow into capital market and this will increase employment,” he said.

The Technical Adviser to the Vice President on Economic Matters, Mr. Fola Adejuwon, who remarked that inflation has been trending down within the last nine months, gave assurance that Nigerians would see the best side of the economy by January.

“We are going to see significant growth and the trend is targeted at households. The purchasing power of households is going to grow and will buy more than it used to buy. All economic reforms will percolate into individual expenses of households,” he said.

Adejuwon, who admitted that it has been difficult for enterprises to flourish under the present interest rate regime, disclosed that all efforts are now geared towards reversing the trend, adding that the MPR, which is now 14 per cent, will be further reduced next year.

He said the Federal government is also making efforts to reduce the risk of lending and defaults so that banks will be in position to reduce interest rates on loans.

Adejuwon disclosed that Development Bank of Nigeria is coming upstream while Bank of Industries (BOI), Bank of Agriculture and others will be recapitalised in next fiscal year to enable them lend at single digit interest rate.

November 16, 2017
Economic recovery: Food processing to the rescue

Nigeria’s food processing industry is valued at $10 billion. It also provides an estimated 10 million direct jobs. Despite being one of the world’s largest producers of agricultural products, Nigeria has failed to derive maximum benefit from the industry. Experts blame this on logistics and storage issues, which, according to them, have led to waste over the years. DANIEL ESSIET looks at the prospects and problems of an industry that holds promises of driving growth.

As the search for Nigeria’s economic recovery intensifies, not a few experts believe that the nation’s rich resource base, particularly in the agricultural sector, has the greatest capacity to sustainably return the economy to the recovery path. They cite Nigeria’s agro climatic condition, which is suitable for commercial agriculture, as an added advantage.

The experts are, however, quick to point out that, despite Nigeria’s comparative advantage in agric, lack of a vibrant food processing sector, which is a significant component of the agro industry, has continued to deny the country the benefits from agric.

Easysauces Nigeria Limited Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Jide Adedeji, put the disturbing situation in perspective when he said Nigeria’s level of food processing and value addition were very low. This, he lamented, is despite that the food processing sector has huge potential to create jobs.

Adedeji, whose firm manufactures sauce and tomato paste, among others, also said with a vibrant food processing industry, the agro industry was capable of contributing substantially to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and boosting the manufacturing sector as the majority of input in manufacturing are principally agricultural products.

Indeed, Nigeria produces millions of tonnes of raw food materials from plants and animals that can be refined, stored and transformed into various usable products for local and export markets.

A robust food processing sector also enhances the development of industries utilising produce such as rice, maize, oilseeds, fruits, vegetables and sugarcane. It also increases the seasonal availability of foods and extends their shelf life.

Adedeji and other agro-experts, however, expressed concern that Nigeria’s food processing industry lacked adequate post-harvest infrastructural facilities and technologies, such as proper transportation and storage facilities, which result to enormous wastage of produce, particularly perishable commodities.

The National President, Federation of Agricultural Commodity Association of Nigeria (FACAN), Dr. Victor Iyama, lamented the disturbing level of wastage of agriculture produce due to poor processing, noting that this was happening at a time an estimated 200 million population needed to be fed annually.

He observed that the high wastage level was a clear indication that the processing sector’s infrastructure can’t cope with crop surpluses. Noting that the perishability was high in key sectors, such as fruits & vegetables, he said supply chain improvements were required if the industry must tap into the opportunities the sub-sectors offer.

A Lagos Business School Industry Report accessed by The Nation also identified poor processing as a challenge across the sub-sectors in agric. According to the report, this has led to rejection and wastage of various agricultural products. It added that the challenge was traceable to poor preservation techniques.

According to experts in the agro industry, the resultant huge loss of revenues to Nigeria and severe hardship inflicted on farmers and consumers meant that Nigeria has so failed to derive benefits from her food processing industry (FPI) estimated at $10 billion.

Other limiting factors

Nigeria’s food sector’s regulatory environment has also been identified as a major factor slowing down food processing. There has been incoherence and inconsistency in the regulatory environment where multiple administering authorities have led to a complex regulatory system.

For the sector to grow, Country Manager, Harvest Plus Nigeria, Dr. Paul Ilona, said the regulatory system must be industry-friendly, simplified and well integrated without additional burden on various operators in the value chain.

Ilona pointed out that it was important that the government gives more concessions to the food industry, especially to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), to boost their potential to create jobs.

Apart from the challenge of regulation, the industry also lacks the required investment. The heavy post-harvest losses of farm products has been due to the shortage of suitable infrastructure such as cold chain, packaging centres, value adding centres, and modernised abattoirs, among others, which require huge investment.

Stakeholders say lack of safe and efficient storage system to ensure continuous supply of agricultural commodities in the market is an issue.

For instance, the Project Director, Cassava Adding Value to Africa (CAVA), Prof Kola Adebayo, stressed that storage and processing were critical in ensuring that the commodities produced at a particular period are available for consumption whenever and wherever they are required.

He observed that, in most parts of the country, significant quantities of products harvested are lost to lack of storage and processing facilities.

Estimating Nigeria’s post-harvest produce losses at 40 percent, Adebayo attributed poor infrastructure to government’s neglect, lack of finance and poor maintenance culture.

The Lagos Business School Industry Report also said access to credit is a major issue. The report said due to the nature of the industry, creditors found it a high risk to invest in the agricultural sector. “Where available, credit comes at very high rate, which erodes the farmer’s margin and defeats the purpose of the investment,” the report stated.

Worst hit by lack of access to credit are SMEs, which form the bulk of operators in the food processing sector. According to the President, Association of Micro Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (AMEN), Prince Saviour Iche, SMEs find it difficult to access government incentives and finances.

He said this hampers their growth and the quality of their produce as well as their adherence to global quality and standards. It also makes marketing of Nigeria-made processed foods less competitive in overseas markets particularly in developed countries where loans are at longer terms.

Indeed, loans for infrastructure projects in the food processing sector are usually given at longer tenures or terms in the rest of the world. But in Nigeria, such loans are given at short terms, most times at timeline of five-10 years. This means that the entire loan needs to be paid back in five years.

Besides, Adebayo pointed out that some agric processing projects are not like traditional infrastructure projects, as the promoters have to deal with issues such as environmental and climatic conditions, which are not in their control. According to him, the gestation period is much longer compared to other sectors.

As if these are not enough to discourage operators in the sector, perceived lack of trust has made it difficult to market Nigerian processed foods across developed markets.

For instance, Prof. Stephen Fapohunda of the Department of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Babcock University, Ogun State, noted that operators needed to cooperate with government to enable them comply with the requirements for the certification system for processed foods that are aligned with global standards.

Lack of skills also a sore point

Although the local food processing industry boasts large workforce, its level of education remains low, translating into low skills. Stakeholders complain that the industry has been experiencing acute shortage of skilled and trained manpower, which is a critical factor negatively impacting its competitiveness.

Adedeji admitted that the potential of the food processing industry is huge and that what is required to reposition it to contribute to economic recovery and growth is highly skilled manpower and innovation in raw materials sourcing and marketing as well as investments in technology and Research and Development (R&D).

While reiterating that the market for processed food is huge, the expert emphasised that the biggest challenge is finding people with the right skills set. He noted that although there are research institutions in agriculture and food sector, there is scarcity of industry specific hands.

Experts list ways to revitalise food processing sector

Changing consumer trend, which tends to favour the consumption of locally sourced foods is said to be creating opportunities for farmers to bring their products to the market and ultimately, encourage operators in the food processing industry. With Nigeria producing surplus food that is raw material for processed food, the experts consider the potential of the local food processing industry to be huge.

But to realise this potential, experts say that there is the need to vigorously implement the Federal Government’s Green Alternative, which is a road map towards diversifying the country’s economy through agriculture.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Audu Ogbeh, had explained that the policy objective of the document, which has a four-year implementation period (2016 to 2020), was to make agriculture the biggest alternative to oil and gas business in the bid to diversify the economy.

He said the government was aware of the sufferings of many families caused by food shortage. Ogbeh, however, stated that government was working hard to reverse the situation through the implementation of various agricultural programmes.

This, experts say, could be done by strengthening farm–market linkages and leveraging on the potential of the food processing sector.

Ilona, suggests, for instance, that the government should shortlist key produce segments with specific growth opportunities based on production strengths and competitive advantages. According to him, the nation’s high consumption rate encourages the growth of the food processing industry.

For Iyama, a partnership between the government and the private sector would dramatically transform the food processing sector and contribute to economic recovery. He added that apart from improving rural livelihood, it will also bridge the rural-urban divide.

Unfettered access to FDI

Allowing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the sector, according to Ilona, will also boost its productivity by reducing post-harvest wastage and helping crop diversification. He, therefore, said there is the need to open the floodgate of FDI for the sector to thrive.

Besides, Ilona and other experts called on the government to revitalise the Staple Crop Processing Zones (SCPZs) introduced by the former Agriculture Minister, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, to develop common infrastructure for food processing units, similar to special economic zones (SEZs).

August 28, 2017
Economic recovery can relapse, warns CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has warned that Nigeria’s fragile growth risks falling back into recession.

Addressing reporters at the end of the bi-monthly Monetary Policy Committee Meeting in Abuja yesterday, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele said “forecasts of key macroeconomic indicators point to a fragile economic recovery in the second quarter of the year”.

”The Committee cautioned that this recovery could relapse in a more protracted recession if strong and bold monetary and fiscal policies are not activated immediately to sustain it,” he stressed.

To guard against this, the MPC noted that “the expected fiscal stimulus and non-oil federal receipts, as well as improvements in economy-wide non-oil exports, especially agriculture, manufacturing, services and light industries, all expected to drive the growth impetus for the rest of the year, must be pursued relentlessly.”

The Committee said it “expects that timely implementation of the 2017 Budget, improved management of foreign exchange, as well as security gains across the country, especially, in the Niger Delta and North Eastern axis, should be firmly anchored, to enhance confidence and sustainability of economic recovery”.

The MPC of the CBN also expressed concern over the increasing fiscal deficit estimated at N2.51 trillion in the first half of this year.

Emefiele lamented “the crowding out effect of high government borrowing.”

He called for “fiscal restraint to check the growing deficit” and also disclosed that the committee had once again resolved to retain lending rates at 14%.

The Committee welcomed the government’s proposal to issue sovereign-backed promissory notes of about N3.4 trillion for the settlement of accumulated local debt and contractors arrears.

The Committee advised the CBN “to monitor the release process of the promissory notes to avoid an excessive injection of liquidity into the system, thereby offsetting the gains so far achieved in inflation and exchange rate stability”.

On why the MPC chose to retain Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) for so long, Emefiele noted that “there is a need for a low interest rate because we know that low interest rate will make it easy for people who want to borrow money to borrow at low rates, we know it will inject liquidity into the system but we are saying that inflation at 18.8% and even today at 16.1% is still considered very high in the light of studies that have been conducted”.

He explained that “there are acceptable models for computing the inflation threshold and this models have computed inflation threshold for Nigeria at a range of between 10%-12%; what that means is that when inflation rises above 12%, no matter the action that you take to stimulate growth, it will retard growth.”

Emefiele said the authorities “need to look at how we reverse the trend in inflation and we’re happy that we have done so from 18.8%-16.1% and we are hopeful that it will continue to trend downwards and as this is achieved, we also believe that there is a need to ease rate and also bring interest rate down”.

Defending the decision to retain interest rate at 14%, Emefiele noted that “we’re truly not there yet because of the reasons I have stated but also more importantly because we believe that easing now or reducing interest rate will pull the real interest rate further into the negative territory which is a disincentive to investment”. “Those are some of the fundamental issues,” he added.

A disincentive to investment, he stressed “will hurt our stability that we have so far achieved in the forex market and there is a need for us to ensure that this does not happen”.

“That is the rationale and we would continue as much as possible to continue to provide this explanation. We understand the pain but the actions of the MPC will be reflected in whatever direction that we think is good for Nigeria.”

At the end of the meeting, members of the MPC resolved to retain the MPR at 14 per cent; retain the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 22.5 per cent; retain the Liquidity Ratio at 30.00 per cent; and retain the Asymmetric corridor at +200 and -500 basis points around the MPR.

The Committee is satisfied with the gradual but consistent decline in inflationary pressure in the domestic economy, noting ”its substantial base effect,continuous improvements in the naira exchange rate across all segments of the foreign exchange market, and considerable signs of improved i nvestments inflow”.

Emefiele said “the Committee welcomed the move by the fiscal authorities to engage the services of asset-tracing experts to investigate the tax payment status of 150 firms and individuals in an effort to close some of the loopholes in tax collection, towards i mproving government revenue”.

However, the Committee expressed concern about the slow implementation of the 2017 Budget and called on the authorities to ensure timely implementation, especially, of the capital portion to realise the objectives of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

Regarding complaints by banks of liquidity constraints caused by the apex bank’s mop-up activities, Emefiele said he was once there (private sector banking system), adding that “their business is to complain because they’re economic agents that are interested in making profit”. “We, as regulators looking at all the data that confront us, certainly know that we must be alive to our responsibilities and do our work.”

Doing their work, he said “means we must do what we have done to continue to achieve the sliding trend in inflation and stabilise the forex market, that is what we are doing and we will continue to do so”.

On the forex trend the CBN governor the apex bank had “left that now for the market”. “The market will decide. Gone are the days when CBN will be seen to be leaning on somebody as to whatever he thinks is the direction of the market will be,” he said.

However, the CBN, Emefiele said, “remains a player and from time-to-time, given our sensitivities regarding where we think the market will be, we would intervene and that is why you are seeing the level of intervention in the last five months. The intensity of that intervention will continue”.

July 26, 2017
‘Economic recovery plan, step in the right direction’

Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Comrade Ayuba Wabba says that the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) unveiled by President Muhammadu Buhari was a step in the right direction. He said organised labour is optimistic that the policy will work, because it was comprehensive, with input from labour. The labour leader also justified the N52, 000 minimum wage being demanded by labour in the ongoing negotiation with the Federal Government for a review of the minimum wage. He noted that the challenge of low purchasing power, high inflation and cost of goods and services, among others, made the push for upward review imperative. In this interview with Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA, Wabba also spoke on why State Governors should be represented in the Negotiation Committee for the review of the minimum wage, among other issues. The Economic Recovery and Growth Plan has just been launched. From labour’s perspective are there reasons be optimistic?

The Federal Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) has just been unveiled. Are there reasons to be optimistic?

Certainly. We were part of it. Let me tell you also that after the last rally on Good Governance, the then Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, actually directed that the Economic Team meet with us, take on board our observations. Therefore, I can say that that document was comprehensive because we also made inputs to it. I think it’s a step in the right direction. No country can develop without a plan and a policy that will actually tell us the direction of government in all aspects and sectors of the economy. So, I think when you are planning it means also that you are doing what is right. So, I think we should give those processes all our support so that we can be able to deliver.

Coming two years into the life of the administration, don’t you think the document came rather too late?

Everything in the document has a timeline including implementation strategies, including the committee to drive the process of implementation. So, I think it’s better late than never. Its better you start something than keep lamenting and nothing happens. We hope that the policy will work. But I think on the part of the NLC, it will work.

Last week Friday, the Technical Committee for Palliatives and Minimum Wage finally submitted its report. Some labour leaders say it is the report of that Committee that government was using to delay the negotiation of the new minimum wage. Now that the report has been submitted, what is labour’s move towards achieving the new minimum wage review?

That assertion is not true, because you realise that what brought about the Palliative Committee was the issue of the petroleum price. It was as a result of our demand on the table that the issue of minimum wage was accommodated and therefore, we mutually agreed that that same Committee, because of the effects that fuel price increase has brought to the challenge of low purchasing power, inflation, high cost of goods and services, we thought also that the minimum wage should be integrated into the work of that Committee. So, it was part of the demand we made and which was graciously accepted. The first step, as you said, is for that Technical Committee to work assiduously, because what also delayed the process was the fact that we wanted a comprehensive submission on the issue of palliatives particularly the issue of housing, transport and meal subsidy; all those allowances that have actually been affected by the fuel price increase. We want a comprehensive package that will also address that issue. It does not also limit itself to only workers; it is the Nigerian citizens. So, the first step is for the report of that Committee to be submitted, which has been submitted. And graciously also, we have agreed that all other processes will also be accelerated. The Committee that will also negotiate the minimum wage will also have to be comprehensive so that we won’t have hitches along the road. It’s going to be a 26-member Committee where the State Governors will be represented because they have actually been the problem militating against the review of the minimum wage. Left for the Federal Government there would not have been any problem. So, we want to carry along the organised private sector because the essence of the minimum wage is to make sure that the poor or the poorest of the worker is protected against exploitation. That the minimum is within which no employer of labour can go below. Many workers are being exploited. Many workers are being paid below 10, 000 and those are the issues we want to address. Once we have that in place, because the minimum wage is a constitutional matter, we are going to actually protect the most vulnerable group of workers and I think it’s better we follow the processes and the procedures. The basic issue that is affecting the minimum wage is implementation at all levels so, that is why in the wisdom of the Palliatives Committee all those critical stakeholders will actually be brought to the table and we drive the process effectively together. And I have seen also the commitment of government because we told them also that time is of the essence and I can see that even at the last meeting, the next meeting to hold two weeks after the submission of the report around 29th of this month. So, you can see that there is now new vigour to try to drive the process.

How long will workers wait before the new minimum wage takes effect?

As I told you it’s going to be a process. The NLC has submitted its demand, which I think this is not the first time we are saying this. It has been in the media severally. So, the process needs to be tidied up. First, that larger Committee, which will now submit those reports to the President, which is what, is going to take place next. Then, this Tripartite Committee has to be in place. It also depends on the attitude of other stakeholders because this has to be tripartite. The procedure as you are aware, all through history, has been through this process. The one we had in 2000; the one we had in 2011, all have actually followed this process. What we assure all of us is that labour will do everything possible to make sure that any other issue that will affect the process will not arise from us. We will also put all the necessary pressure that is required for this process to go through.

In view of the current recession, is the N52, 000 minimum wage being demanded by labour still feasible?

We need to be very forthcoming in doing what is right. Not only that, we need to also look at the feasibility because it doesn’t make sense if you go for a figure that at the end of the day, you have problem pushing it through. So, what we have done is that we looked at the totality of the issues, including the challenges we are going through at the moment and we thought that what we have done is reasonable. What is the value of N18, 000 when it was signed, looking at inflation, purchasing power and ability to pay? So, I think we have been reasonable in making such demand and we hope also that other social partners will look at it from the perspective of us being very committed and also being very nationalistic in putting up those demands.

About three weeks ago, the Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA) met and said NLC and other organised labour should consider 2018 to push for this minimum wage, not 2017 bearing in mind the situation of the economy?

Well, NECA is entitled to its opinion. But I think what will drive the process is what is prevailing now. Workers presently cannot feed themselves because of the high cost of goods and services. Everybody has the right to his or her opinion, but the opinion of the workers is that a review of the minimum wage is legitimate both by law and practice. Five years cycle is legitimate and therefore, when we reach the bridge we will know how to cross it. Our opinion is also that workers have been pushed to the wall so, it’s time for the minimum wage to be reviewed both in law and practice because the cycle is due and inflation is biting very hard, high cost of goods and services is affecting workers seriously. Many workers cannot send their children to school, many cannot pay their rent, and many cannot even go to work regularly. Side by side with fighting corruption, if you don’t pay me to meet up with my bills we can’t fight corruption. What is the cost of living that will make me comfortable as a worker for 30 days with my family? All of us can reason and calculate all of these. All of you are workers and therefore, we can know all of these. So, let us be more reasonable. Workers should not be treated as slaves. Companies are still making profits. So, those are the basis and those are the issues we are advancing.

May Day is three weeks from now. What should workers be addressing or demanding from government?

We are going to as usual accommodate all the interests of workers; not only workers, but also the interest of the Nigerian public, from social and economic angle to security angle, down to issue of strategic institutions like power. All of these will actually be accommodated in our address so that we can drive our country to the next level. All issues that pertain to development, because it is when the economy is doing well that citizens of the country will also do well. And side by side is the issue of good governance. All of these will actually feature in our May address. But most importantly, the welfare and wellbeing of the worker will be pushed to the front burner because if workers create wealth then they need better attention.

What is labour’s reaction to recent revelations of corruption cases?

We have been very consistent to say that the problem with Nigeria is man-made; it’s not an act of God. And it will take all of us including our leaders to address the problem. The problem of saying there is no money does not arise. In fact, there is enough for all to benefit. The problem is because few have taken more than enough. In fact, they have taken even for the generation yet unborn. This is the challenge of Nigeria. Therefore, when we canvass for good governance and also that the fight against corruption should continue you can see that things are actually unfolding. No country can advance without paying attention to good governance and fighting corruption. So, we remain very consistent as organised labour because we have been the worse hit. Workers have been the worse hit because our salaries are fixed, our allowances are fixed and so we are the worst hit. If there is any social instability we are the ones that are worst hit. So, I think it’s a priority for us and therefore when corruption is fighting back we should not relent. Citizens must continue to stand on the side of truth. And also workers shouldn’t be deterred because in every evolving process those issues do happen, but I think in the case of Nigeria, it is most unfortunate because it has proven very clearly that it is not about resources. We have more than enough; it is only that few people have actually accumulated this wealth to themselves and the majorities are actually poor. Our children are no longer being employed. There is serious challenge in the social system and these issues must be addressed, if not all of us will be seating on a time bomb.

May 8, 2017
Between cost reduction and economic recovery

The newly-launched Federal Government Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) has a lot in stock in ensuring speedy restoration of the economy. The creation
of the Efficiency Unit to optimise public finance management and efficient utilisation of revenues is expected to help the government realise its goals. Stakeholders insist that prudent management of available resources and adoption of cost-cutting measures are needed to ensure successful implementation of the ERGP agenda, writes COLLINS NWEZE.

The Federal Government has unfolded its Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), which outlined how the country will get out of recession and attain stability and growth. The economic blueprint, itemised the potential in the economy and how they can be harnessed for economic growth, and development.
The ERGP recognised that the country has the potential to become a major player in the global economy by virtue of its human and natural resource endowments. However, this potential, it said, has remained relatively untapped over the years.
Analysts said the content of the ERGP shows that the government was already approaching the solution to the nation’s economic challenges with the same will and commitment it had demonstrated in the fight against corruption and economic development.
They believed the ERGP had brought together all the sectoral plans for agriculture and food security, energy and transport infrastructure, industrialisation and among others means it can actually be used to revive the economy.
Besides, after a shift from agriculture to crude oil and gas in the late 1960s, Nigeria’s growth has continued to be driven by consumption and high oil prices. “Previous economic policies left the country ill-prepared for the recent collapse of crude oil prices and production. The structure of the economy remains highly import dependent, consumption driven and undiversified,” it said.
The Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), a Medium Term Plan for 2017 – 2020, builds on the Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) and has been developed to restore economic growth while leveraging the ingenuity and resilience of the Nigerians – the nation’s most priceless assets.
It is also articulated with the understanding that the role of the government in the 21st century must evolve from that of being an omnibus provider of citizens’ needs into a force for eliminating the bottlenecks that impede innovation and market-based solutions.
The plan also recognises the need to leverage Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) and build a knowledge-based economy. The ERGP is also consistent with the aspirations of the Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs) given that the initiatives address its three dimensions of economic, social and environmental sustainability issues.
However, stakeholders believe that cost reduction strategies for achieving greater macroeconomic strategy and realising the goals of ERGP.
The Consumer Advocacy Foundation of Nigeria (CAFON) President, Sola Salako, said every Nigerian would benefit from efficiency in implementation of available resources. She said efficiency in the management of resources will help achieve the ERGP goals, and save more funds for implementation of more projects. “Government should be seen as business of service and not means of acquiring wealth. The ERGP is key in helping government realise its objectives,” he said.
An Economist, Henry Boyo said government can be efficient in a productive process. He said that having a progressive economic plan provides opportunity for government to be efficient. He said cutting of costs and efficiency in management of resources, adding that the economy needs to be diversified and real sector promoted for the real benefits of ERGP to be realised.
“For the economy to grow, the real sector has to be promoted. There is need to manage inflation, reduce cost of borrowing and have efficient exchange rate for the economy to thrive. Government has to implement budget efficiently, for it to realise set objectives,” he said.
Also, the Efficiency Unit, i s domiciled at Federal Ministry of Finance and i s expected to review all government overhead expenditure, to reduce wast ages , promote efficiency and ensure quantifiable savings for the country.
The unit works across all Ministries, Departments and Agencies to identify and eliminate wasteful spending, duplication and other inefficiencies. It also identifies best practices in procurement and financial management and share such knowledge with the MDAs to ensure its adoption.
“Findings of the Efficiency Unit will be formally communicated accordingly and will be enforced through establishment of expenditure guidelines, undertaking follow-up reviews and spot checks.Other measures that will ultimately checkmate wastage across all areas of Federal Government expenditure will also be adopted, ’’ the statement announcing it said.
According to the statement, the development is based on the fact that the nation’s recurrent expenditure completely dwarfs capital expenditure by a ratio of 84/16. “This includes non-wage related overhead expenditure such as travel costs, entertainment, events, printing, IT consumables, stationery,” it said.
The ERGP also indicated that oil accounts for more than 95 per cent of exports and foreign exchange earnings while the manufacturing sector accounts for less than one percent of total exports.
“The high growth recorded during 2011-2015, which averaged 4.8 per cent per annum mainly driven by higher oil prices, was largely non-inclusive. Majority of Nigerians remain under the burden of poverty, inequality and unemployment. General economic performance was also seriously undermined by deplorable infrastructure, corruption and mismanagement of public finances. Decades of consumption and high oil price-driven growth led to an economy with a positive but jobless growth trajectory,” it said.
According to the report, after more than a decade of economic growth, the sharp and continuous decline in crude oil prices since mid-2014, along with a failure to diversify the sources of revenue and foreign exchange in the economy, led to a recession in the second quarter of last year.
“The challenges in the oil sector, including sabotage of oil export terminals in the Niger Delta, negatively impacted government revenue and export earnings, as well as the fiscal capacity to prevent the economy from contracting. The capacity of the government spending was equally constrained by lack of fiscal buffers to absorb the shock, as well as leakages of public resources due to corruption and inefficient spending in the recent past,” it said.
It said the current administration recognises that the economy is likely to remain on a path of steady and steep decline if nothing is done to change the trajectory. It is in this context that since inception in May 2015, Government has made several efforts aimed at tackling these challenges and changing the national economic trajectory in a fundamental way.
“The earliest action was the prioritisation of three policy goals: tackling corruption, improving security and re-building the economy. Consequently, the Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) for the 2016 Budget of Change was developed as a short-term intervention for this purpose. Visible successes and achievements have been recorded. However, it is recognized that more needs to be done to propel the country towards sustainable accelerated development,” it said.
It said the ERGP differs from previous plans in several ways. First, focused implementation is at the core of the delivery strategy of the Plan over the next four years. More than ever before, there is a strong political determination, commitment and will at the highest level.
“While all the MDAs will have their different roles in implementing the Plan, a Delivery Unit is being established in the Presidency to drive the implementation of key ERGP priorities. The Ministry of Budget and National Planning will coordinate plan-implementation and for this purpose will, amongst other things, build up its capability for robust monitoring and evaluation,” it said.
The plan outlines bold new initiatives such as ramping up oil production to 2.5mbpd by 2020, privatising selected public enterprises/assets, and revamping local refineries to reduce petroleum product imports by 60 percent by next year. Other initiatives include environmental restoration projects in the Niger Delta, which demonstrate the Federal Government’s determination to bring environment sustainability to the forefront of its policies.
“As part of this plan, oil revenues will be used to develop and diversify the economy, not just sustain consumption as was done in the past. The economy will run on multiple engines of growth, not just the single engine of oil. The Plan focuses on growth, not just for its own sake, but for the benefits it will bring to the Nigerians. This plan also places importance on emerging sectors such as the entertainment and creative industries,” it said.
Besides, the ERGP builds on existing sectoral strategies and plans such as the National Industrial Revolution Plan, and the Nigeria Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan. Rather than re-inventing the wheel, the ERGP will strengthen the successful components of these previous strategies and plans while addressing challenges observed in their implementation.
“The ERGP is innovative in that it signals a changing relationship between the public and private sectors based on close partnership. In implementing the plan, the government will collaborate closely with businesses to deepen their investments in the agriculture, power, manufacturing, solid minerals and services sectors, and support the private sector to become the engine of national growth and development. In addition, science and technology will be effectively harnessed to drive national competitiveness, productivity and economic activities in all sectors,” it said.
Also, the Administration has merged the Budget and Planning functions into one Ministry to create a better and stronger link between annual budgets and the ERGP. This has facilitated the ERGP’s preparation process and will also expedite its implementation. It also strengthens the macro framework which underpins the ERGP, ensuring that budgets are properly aligned with planning, thus promoting effective implementation.
The ERGP provides for effective collaboration and coordination with the states to ensure that the Federal and state governments work towards the same goals. The states have a significant role to play in the success of the ERGP and some have already adopted some of the initiatives being promoted in this Plan.
The ERGP is rooted in the core values that define the Nigerian society as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, notably discipline, integrity, dignity of labour, social justice, religious tolerance, self-reliance and patriotism. It requires all citizens and stakeholders to adhere to these principles.
“The ERGP emphasizes investment in infrastructure, especially in power, roads, rail, ports and broadband networks. It builds on ongoing projects and identifies new ones to be implemented by 2020 to improve the national infrastructure backbone. Given the huge capital layout required to address the massive infrastructure deficit in the country, the private sector is expected to play a key role in providing critical infrastructure, either directly or in collaboration with the Government under public private partnership (PPP) arrangements,” it said.
Besides, to make the Nigerian economy more competitive in the 21st century global economy, its industrial policy must be linked to a digital-led strategy for growth.
“The ERGP will build on The Smart Nigeria Digital Economy Project to increase the contribution from ICT and ICT-enabled activity to GDP. The overall goals of a digital-led strategy for growth centre on the establishment of an ICT ecosystem in Nigeria. To modernize the Nigerian economy and make it competitive in the 21st century global economy, its industrial policy must be linked to a digital-led strategy for growth. The Smart Nigeria Digital Economy Project led by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (MITI) in partnership with the Ministry of Communication is designed to do just this,” it said.

May 1, 2017
‘Skill acquisition vital to economic recovery’

Mrs Janet Jolaoso is the President/Chairman of Council, Nigerian Institute of Training & Development (NITAD). In this interview with Assistant Editor Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie, she says no organisation can grow without continuous training of workers.

What does Nigerian Institute of Training & Development (NITAD) have to offer to industries in these days of recession?

The institute has a vision, which is to be a world-class body in learning, training, facilitation and development. Our main focus is to develop and maintain best practices in these four areas by providing mandatory, continuous professional education to our members, so that they can deliver effectively when they have clients. I believe knowledge is light.When they deliver effectively, there will be increase in productivity and we will also be able to influence our environment through this positively. It is about ensuring that people change for better, so that the economy can improve.

When you talk of ensuring best practices, is it in the private or the public sector?

It is for both the public and private sectors. Training and development cut across everything in life. After your education in the university, nobody actually gather people to teach them management. You begin as a professional medical doctor, engineer or whatsoever your field is. But as time goes on and you acquire more experience and prove yourself to be good, you begin to manage people. So, NITAD is to ensure that you have effective management of people, so that they can deliver.

You have talked about increasing productivity and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In practical terms, how can you achieve this?

In this age and time, people need to look inwards to see what they can do. We come in by helping to see how attitudes, skills and knowledge can increase.The more knowledgeable you are about a certain job, the better you become in doing it and when you sharpen your skills, it helps in cost reduction. Money and jobs are scarce in the country but improving skill and attitude can go a long way to being cost effective and affording people the opportunity to afford a particular product against its competitors. All these can curb recession. The idea is that if your price does not increase much and the value that people are getting from your products on the other hand is increasing, no matter how bad the recession period may look, you will still keep being in business. So, these are the areas we come in to improve the skills, knowledge and attitude of people through effective training packages.

How do you structure your training to fight poverty? Does it include those in the lower rung of the ladder?

We have postgraduate diploma in various courses that can help to upscale people, especially in lower management cadre and we have also developed what we call a finishing school. So, if one has a School Leaving Certificate, for instance, and is seeking admission and may be without money to do anything for yourself, we will be able to help you look inwards for what you can do. Many young people roaming the streets find it difficult to articulate their thoughts and see where their passion lies. When I was in secondary school in Mayflower, we had different societies – shoe making, wrist watch repairing, and catering. We were taught how to repair shoes, wrist watches, change bulbs, etc. Some who couldn’t get admission into tertiary institutions for one reason or the other went into these businesses and some of them are very successful cobblers today. Our desire is to help to pursue their passion; our belief is that it is not a university degree that can make one successful. We not only train people on lucrative skills but also help them raise funds and expose them to markets. And for the young graduates, a lot of them don’t really understand what etiquette is all about. For instance, you want to go for interview, how do you prepare yourself for people to see you as the preferred candidate above and among others? So, we prepare them in terms of dressing, approach, mannerisms. Some people fail interview because of their mannerisms, dressing; when you see green on red, you wonder where to start. All these are things we are packaging because it is a big market and it is a large gap from coming out of the university. That’s why we say education does not make a man. It is not only in character alone, it is also in your appearance and mannerisms.

Most organisations lack the basic rudiments of ethics.Does your institute address these?

We organise learners’ forum at least once in a year and we look for a topic that is germane to situations in the country. Corruption is endemic and is not allergic to any sector, people tend to see corruption as a public sector thing but l disagree. The only difference is that in the private sector, the likelihood of the owners of a business challenging a manager, for instance, is high unlike in the public service. Due to bureaucracy and nepotism, people are not held responsible for whatever job they are given. To tackle corruption in Nigeria, we need to attack the mind-set. Once we can address the inner man to start thinking differently, they will behave differently.

As the president of the institute, what are your achievements?

When we came on board, we set up an eight-point agenda. One of them is to complete our chartered status processing. Currently, our Bill has gone through the first and second readings in the House of Representatives and public hearing. We will be at the Senate in a few weeks. This is very significant because if we are not backed by law, we will not be able to regulate training, development, facilitation and learning in the country. When we are chartered, before anybody can engage in consultancy or training as a means of reward profession, he must register with us. For example, if a woman wants to cook, there are some steps you must take. If you don’t take those steps, the result will not be the same. If you want to be a trainer, there are steps you must take and there are certain principles you must know to effectively deliver the value that the client is expecting. Aside from the fact that we regulate that, and make sure that when you are buying into anybody’s services, you ask for evidence of being a member of NITAD because any member of NITAD must have gone through training the trainer. We also produce the membership directory and categorise our members as part of the agenda. The other thing is to also improve the soft skill areas of training. Whether you are working in a company or you are manager, you need management skills to manage your people effectively. What happens is that some people are promoted but this intervention is not there so when they become executive directors for instance, they will lack managerial skills. In that situation what you see is a executive managing the job instead of managing the people who will manage the job. In most cases, you will see some bosses go over their immediate subordinates because nobody taught them to manage the people, but only trained to manage the job.Another achievement is that we have raised our acceptance index. We now see people calling us, obtaining out forms at very high profile level. We have people from the National Assembly, director-generals and Heads of Service that are willing to join us.

What is your advice to the government in terms of job creation?

The government needs to come up with a policy, including creating a body that will look into skill acquisition and implementation. There must be a body, an independent agency, that should be dedicated to skill acquisition and full implementation. Furthermore, when people have acquired the needed skill, avenues must be created to empower them until they practise what they have learnt. Many youths are frustrated because they have gone ahead to acquire skills without funding for them. Our proposition to the government is to come up with an interest-free loan with less stringent conditions. This will help create entrepreneurs who will be employers.

What role is NITAD playing to regulate learning and development?

We are kick-starting our mandatory continuous professional examination this month for our members. And, invariably, when you are chartered, if you want to be a training consultant, you must be our member. Not only that, you will go through training the trainer course, but you also have to have this mandatory continuous examina-tion. You must know what is going on in other countries and you must know the best way to deliver the value that your clients are expecting from you. We keep upgrading our knowledge and we also want to pass this on to our members.

Who are these members?

We have various members, such as those training for reward in the administrative sector and those heading training departments. Our members cut across all professions but mainly those who are into training and development either for reward or for where they are working as leaders. We also have student members. They go through the PostGraduate Diploma (PGD). In addition we are also collaborating with the University of Ibadan (UI), where people can come for our course and use it to obtain a degree.

March 27, 2017
‘Skill acqusition vital to economic recovery’

Mrs Janet Jolaoso is the President/Chairman of Council, Nigerian Institute of Training & Development (NITAD).In this interview with Assistant Editor Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie, she says no organisation can grow without continuous training of workers.

What does Nigerian Institute of Training & Development (NITAD) have to offer to industries in these days of recession?

The institute has a vision, which is to be a world-class body in learning, training, facilitation and development. Our main focus is to develop and maintain best practices in these four areas by providing mandatory, continuous professional education to our members, so that they can deliver effectively when they have clients. I believe knowledge is light.When they deliver effectively, there will be increase in productivity and we will also be able to influence our environment through this positively. It is about ensuring that people change for better, so that the economy can improve.

When you talk of ensuring best practices, is it in the private or the public sector?

It is for both the public and private sectors. Training and development cut across everything in life. After your education in the university, nobody actually gather people to teach them management. You begin as a professional medical doctor, engineer or whatsoever your field is. But as time goes on and you acquire more experience and prove yourself to be good, you begin to manage people. So, NITAD is to ensure that you have effective management of people, so that they can deliver.

You have talked about increasing productivity and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In practical terms, how can you achieve this?

In this age and time, people need to look inwards to see what they can do. We come in by helping to see how attitudes, skills and knowledge can increase.The more knowledgeable you are about a certain job, the better you become in doing it and when you sharpen your skills, it helps in cost reduction. Money and jobs are scarce in the country but improving skill and attitude can go a long way to being cost effective and affording people the opportunity to afford a particular product against its competitors. All these can curb recession. The idea is that if your price does not increase much and the value that people are getting from your products on the other hand is increasing, no matter how bad the recession period may look, you will still keep being in business. So, these are the areas we come in to improve the skills, knowledge and attitude of people through effective training packages.

How do you structure your training to fight poverty? Does it include those in the lower rung of the ladder?

We have postgraduate diploma in various courses that can help to upscale people, especially in lower management cadre and we have also developed what we call a finishing school. So, if one has a School Leaving Certificate, for instance, and is seeking admission and may be without money to do anything for yourself, we will be able to help you look inwards for what you can do. Many young people roaming the streets find it difficult to articulate their thoughts and see where their passion lies. When I was in secondary school in Mayflower, we had different societies – shoe making, wrist watch repairing, and catering. We were taught how to repair shoes, wrist watches, change bulbs, etc. Some who couldn’t get admission into tertiary institutions for one reason or the other went into these businesses and some of them are very successful cobblers today. Our desire is to help to pursue their passion; our belief is that it is not a university degree that can make one successful. We not only train people on lucrative skills but also help them raise funds and expose them to markets. And for the young graduates, a lot of them don’t really understand what etiquette is all about. For instance, you want to go for interview, how do you prepare yourself for people to see you as the preferred candidate above and among others? So, we prepare them in terms of dressing, approach, mannerisms. Some people fail interview because of their mannerisms, dressing; when you see green on red, you wonder where to start. All these are things we are packaging because it is a big market and it is a large gap from coming out of the university. That’s why we say education does not make a man. It is not only in character alone, it is also in your appearance and mannerisms.

Most organisations lack the basic rudiments of ethics.Does your institute address these?

We organise learners’ forum at least once in a year and we look for a topic that is germane to situations in the country. Corruption is endemic and is not allergic to any sector, people tend to see corruption as a public sector thing but l disagree. The only difference is that in the private sector, the likelihood of the owners of a business challenging a manager, for instance, is high unlike in the public service. Due to bureaucracy and nepotism, people are not held responsible for whatever job they are given. To tackle corruption in Nigeria, we need to attack the mind-set. Once we can address the inner man to start thinking differently, they will behave differently.

As the president of the institute, what are your achievements?

When we came on board, we set up an eight-point agenda. One of them is to complete our chartered status processing. Currently, our Bill has gone through the first and second readings in the House of Representatives and public hearing. We will be at the Senate in a few weeks. This is very significant because if we are not backed by law, we will not be able to regulate training, development, facilitation and learning in the country. When we are chartered, before anybody can engage in consultancy or training as a means of reward profession, he must register with us. For example, if a woman wants to cook, there are some steps you must take. If you don’t take those steps, the result will not be the same. If you want to be a trainer, there are steps you must take and there are certain principles you must know to effectively deliver the value that the client is expecting. Aside from the fact that we regulate that, and make sure that when you are buying into anybody’s services, you ask for evidence of being a member of NITAD because any member of NITAD must have gone through training the trainer. We also produce the membership directory and categorise our members as part of the agenda. The other thing is to also improve the soft skill areas of training. Whether you are working in a company or you are manager, you need management skills to manage your people effectively. What happens is that some people are promoted but this intervention is not there so when they become executive directors for instance, they will lack managerial skills. In that situation what you see is a executive managing the job instead of managing the people who will manage the job. In most cases, you will see some bosses go over their immediate subordinates because nobody taught them to manage the people, but only trained to manage the job.Another achievement is that we have raised our acceptance index. We now see people calling us, obtaining out forms at very high profile level. We have people from the National Assembly, director-generals and Heads of Service that are willing to join us.

What is your advice to the government in terms of job creation?

The government needs to come up with a policy, including creating a body that will look into skill acquisition and implementation. There must be a body, an independent agency, that should be dedicated to skill acquisition and full implementation. Furthermore, when people have acquired the needed skill, avenues must be created to empower them until they practise what they have learnt. Many youths are frustrated because they have gone ahead to acquire skills without funding for them. Our proposition to the government is to come up with an interest-free loan with less stringent conditions. This will help create entrepreneurs who will be employers.

What role is NITAD playing to regulate learning and development?

We are kick-starting our mandatory continuous professional examination this month for our members. And, invariably, when you are chartered, if you want to be a training consultant, you must be our member. Not only that, you will go through training the trainer course, but you also have to have this mandatory continuous examina-tion. You must know what is going on in other countries and you must know the best way to deliver the value that your clients are expecting from you. We keep upgrading our knowledge and we also want to pass this on to our members.

Who are these members?

We have various members, such as those training for reward in the administrative sector and those heading training departments. Our members cut across all professions but mainly those who are into training and development either for reward or for where they are working as leaders. We also have student members. They go through the PostGraduate Diploma (PGD). In addition we are also collaborating with the University of Ibadan (UI), where people can come for our course and use it to obtain a degree.

March 22, 2017