By Kadiri Abdulrahman
Some financial experts have described Monday’s national broadcast by President Bola Tinubu as inspiring.
The experts, who spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja, however, said that the president’s plans needed proper timeline.
A former President of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Mr Okechukwu Unegbu, said that the is in an interview with.
NAN reports that Tinubu had, on Monday evening, addressed the nation, amidst threats by the organised labour to embark on nationwide strike to protest the hardship occasioned by the recent removal of petroleum subsidy.
Unegbu, who described the plans contained in the president’s nationwide broadcast was commendable.
He, however, said that Tinubu should have attached clear timelines to the proposed palliatives to cushion the harsh economic climate on Nigerians.
“There are several unanswered questions in the broadcast. For instance, the president talked about plans to review salaries of government workers. When will that happen?
“He also talked about cash transfer to certain categories of small businesses across the country. How will those beneficiaries be selected?” he queried.
The financial expert urged the president to make haste in providing affordable transport infrastructure across the country and reviewing the national minimum wage without further delay.
A Development Expert, Dr Joe Abah, also commended Tinubu’s broadcast to the nation, saying that it was good that he came out to explain the reasons behind his administration’s policy measures to Nigerians.
“It is good that he chose to talk in simple terms without employing any economic jargon. I agree with the removal of fuel subsidy, although I am not opposed to subsidy per se.
“It could have been possible to tackle the fraud in the system and ensure that only the poor benefit.
“This will rely on a credible and comprehensive database of the poor, with full knowledge of each Nigerian’s income.
” Since that cannot happen overnight, it is better to first stop the country from spending 16 billion dollars every year on subsidy, which we cannot sustain,” he said.
Abah, however, acknowledge the fact that there was hardship on the streets.
He said that it was good to acknowledge that these were only the immediate steps and focus on businesses, the working class and the poorest of the poor.
“But, there is the need for speed in the implementation of those plans, while suspension and deferred commencement of some taxes will benefit business.
“Funding 75 enterprises with one billion naira each at nine per cent interest for 60 months is a good idea.
“How the 75 enterprises will be selected is key for the credibility of the initiative. How their progress will be tracked and reported as well as how they will pay back the loan are also important.
“It is a clear policy choice to energise MSMEs. Some prefer to energise big businesses with the expectation that MSMEs will benefit collaterally by supplying them components.
“I am glad that the N50 billion grant is to nano businesses and that it is conditional.
“I am also glad that the touted N8,000 to 12 million households, using the National Social Register, for six months doesn’t appear to be happening anymore,” he said.
Also, a professor of finance and capital market at Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Uche Uwaleke, said that the president’s address was soothing.
Uwaleke said that Tinubu spoke in clear terms, adding that Nigerians should give him benefit of the doubt.
“However, the address it was short of how the three arms of government will share in the pains of the governed, especially with respect to effecting a significant cut in the cost of governance,” he said. (NAN)
