PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari’s Independence Day speech, especially the aspects that touches on the economy, drew positive reviews from stakeholders on Tuesday.
They praised the President for his administration’s economic reforms, but urged him to back his words with action.
They also identified what must be done to further strengthen the economy.
Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki praised the President for prioritizing investment in infrastructural development.
He urged the President to follow through his approval of N600 billion to revamp infrastructure across the country in the next three months.
The governor said the move was necessary to spur economic development.
Obaseki was chatting with reporters after attending an Independence Day Church Service organised by the state government in collaboration with the Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Edo State chapter, in Benin City.
Buhari in his nationwide broadcast mandated the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to release N600 billion for capital projects in the next three months.
Obaseki said Nigeria has not experienced the needed economic growth because, over the years, policies had not been aligned to drive growth.
He added that the Buhari-led administration has gotten it right by coming up with policies that would spur economic growth.
Obaseki said: “We need to build the basic infrastructure to move people, goods and services. This country has the resources to produce what it consumes, but over the years, policies have not been aligned to do so.
“The Economic Recovery and Growth Plan is a new direction to push growth in the country. The President is emphasising infrastructure, law and order and other policies to grow the economy, which is commendable.”
The governor urged Nigerians not to lose faith in the country, noting that despite the difficult times, the nation would be great again.
Nigerian Association of Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) National President Hajiya Saratu Iya Aliyu said there was the need to consolidate on the gains the administration has recorded so far.
It’s said the government should ensure adherence to the rule of law, promote an efficient tax system geared towards expanding the tax net, focus on sustainable energy, and harness the creative industry, agribusiness, solid minerals and metals.
The NACCIMA chief called for the promotion of women and youths through micro and medium scale development, and a coordinated approach towards regional economic integration.
He said: “As we approach the last year of implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP 2017-2020), we are also presented with an opportunity for introspection, to assess our policy stance as a country for the benefit of the generations unborn.”
To the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI), said the power situation remains a major limitation to local production.
Its Director-General Muda Yusuf added that the security situation has deteriorated.
He said: “It impacted on investment risk and worsened the country’s perception and image by the global investing community.
“Access to markets in the troubled parts of the country has reduced for many enterprises with negative consequences for investors’ confidence.”
He maintained that unless there are effective and sustained protection and support for the manufacturing sector, and a dramatic improvement in infrastructure, the outlook for the sector will remain gloomy, particularly for the small-scale industries.
He said: “It is impossible to have a vibrant manufacturing sector in the face of cheap imports into the country, and high production and operating cost in the domestic economy. Some of these imports are landing at 50 per cent of the cost of locally-made products.
“Besides, manufacturers have to worry about high energy cost; they have to worry about high-interest rates – 20 per cent and above; they have to worry about a multitude of regulatory agencies making different demands on them.”
He urged the Federal Government to address the issues of massive smuggling and under-invoicing of imports, as well as trade facilitation issues at the seaports.
There were also reactions to the President’s decision to relocate the supervision of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) from the Presidency to the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs (MNDA).
The Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) and the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) do not mind where the control originates from; the Itsekiri Leaders of Thought (ILoT) see the shift as a violation of the legal framework of the establishing Act of the NDDC.
PANDEF, in a statement by its National Secretary, Dr Alfred Mulade, said it was not bothered about who supervises the commission, but how effective the ministry would be in coordinating the activities of the commission alongside its primary duties as a ministry.
He said: “The explanation proffered by Mr President for the relocation of the NDDC to the Ministry of Niger Delta could not be faulted in its face value. The worry lies in the capacity of the Ministry to provide effective coordination and supervision alongside its primary objectives, for the region.
“What matters most is the political will to effectively fund the NDDC and the ministry to deliver on their respective mandates to the people of the Niger Delta region.”
UPU said its primary concern was about the effective performance of the NDDC and not the supervising body.
UPU’s National Publicity Secretary Abel Oshevire noted that people of the region expect that the commission to do better under the ministry.
He said: “What the Urhobo people want from the NDDC, just like other stakeholders, is performance. Who supervises the Commission is only a matter of semantics, whether the Presidency or the Niger Delta Ministry, is not an issue to the people of the region.
“What matters to the people of the Niger Delta now is an NDDC that will develop and transform the place into a status befitting an oil-producing region.
“The NDDC has failed to live up the expectations of the people since its establishment more than 15 years ago. It has been more of a curse than a blessing to the region. It has been all stories of corruption, leaving the region poorer and under-developed with each successive administration.
Stakeholders in the agricultural sector expressed mixed feelings over the speech.
Buhari said Nigeria has made “remarkable progress in almost all segments of the agriculture value chain, from fertilizers to rice, to animal feed production,” vowing to sustain the policies.
National Association of Grain Storage Practitioners of Nigeria Chairman Chief Eric Ozongwu noted that farmers cannot afford the fertilizer.
He said: “Fertilizer is on the high side. Once you don’t have fertilizer, you are just wasting your time.”
On border closure to prevent rice importation, Ozongwu said smugglers were still taking advantage of the country’s porous borders to import rice on motorcycles.
He said: “I am in Lagos currently and the borders are said to be closed, but smugglers still bring in rice because all our borders are porous.
“People still use motorcycles to bring in rice through our borders. Little effort has been made no doubt, but we just have to be sincere about what we are doing.”
A Plateau rice farmer and processor, Peter Dama, said that the government had done remarkably well in rice production.
He said the closure of land borders boosted local rice farmers and processors’ profits, adding that the introduction of the Anchor Borrowers Program was a further positive development.
His words: “In the milling sector, you find out that a lot of Nigerian millers are now milling and selling out their rice as a result of the closure of the borders which has curbed smuggling activities.”
All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) Vice President Daniel Okafor urged the government to do more to improve farmers’ access to fertilizer.
He also urged the government to carry farmers along during policy formulation and implementation.
Harvest Feeds and Agro Processing Chairman Goke Adeyemi said the limit on importation was bearing fruit.
He said Nigeria used to import things it could produce locally, “but in the last three years, you can see the production of some of the staple foods within Nigeria.”
According to him, boosting local production would guarantee job security.
He said: “The government needs to take a step further by making sure that all produce consumed in Nigeria is produced in Nigeria”.
World Bank Consultant, Prof. Abel Ogunwale, said he was supportive of the government’s move to stop food import.
He praised the government on its agricultural policies, saying the sector suffered years of neglect due to oil dependence.
Industrialist/Managing Director, Spectra Foods Limited, Duro Kuteyi, said the President’s speech lacked substance.
He said: “The President did not take into consideration the challenges faced by indigenous manufacturers such as lack of electricity and multiple taxations.
“The level of infrastructure decay is unhealthy for the productive sector. There should be tax reduction, which is stifling industrialisation.
“The Federal Government should be wary of its borrowing especially from the Chinese Government because it can be disastrous if not well-managed.”