Some financial experts on Monday said the country’s inflation rate could be checked with innovative policies that would improve the manufacturing sector, thereby boost national outputs.
They said this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.Dr Uju Ogubunka, former Executive Secretary, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria(CIBN), said the federal government could implement its innovation on backward integration to reduce imported inputs for local manufacturing.
Ogubunka advised the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to give out friendly loans to manufacturers and producers to enhance domestic productions.“Granting producers one digit loans with more years of moratorium will expedite their growth.“Then local firms will adequately manufacture imported substituted commodities and in the process improving our domestic capacity,” ogubunka said.He noted that the federal government could align its fiscal and monetary policies to have positive impacts on the agriculture sectors.“
The fiscal allocation must be synergised with the various CBN interventions across the country.“As careful supervision through its agencies will enable the country to achieve food security and the food induced inflation will be checked,” he said.Also, Mr Titus Okurounmu, a former Director, Research Department, CBN, said that the federal government could encourage the completion of all private petrol chemical plants to achieve self sufficiency in the country.“Attaining self sufficiency is imperative to reduce the volume of foreign exchange expended on importation of refined petrol.“Too much expending foreign exchange on imported petrol is one of the factors triggering inflationary rise,” he said.
He noted that the federal government could further modernise its agricultural practice to boost food supplies.“Farmers needs to be educated on modern farming techniques and the utilisation of big machinery to have enhanced harvest.“While measures should be in place to check post harvest loses, especially in areas with poor road network,” he said.Also, the President, Standard Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Anono, said the federal government should diversify the power sector to reduce erratic supplies.“Incessant grid collapse is negating the productive sector of the general economy.“Most businesses have to source for alternative power supplies, which is too exorbitant due the current global crisis,” he said.NAN reports that Nigeria’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) also known as inflation rate has climbed to 16.82 per cent in April 2022, the highest since Aug. 2021.The April inflation rate is also the third consecutive rise since January this year.Food inflation, which comprises more than 50 per cent of inflation rate, also rose to 18.37 per cent, highest in seven months compared to 17.20 per cent in the previous month. (NAN)
