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With pressing national economic challenges, accentuated by what is best described as structural failure and emerging local and global trends, some governors and other stakeholders say there is a strong sense of urgency for the authorities to save the nation from sinking.
Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki and his Gombe State counterpart, Inuwa Yahaya, led the call for the federal government to urgently discontinue the unsustainable fuel subsidy regime, improve power supply and restructure the country, especially the economy.
The governors were among other captains of industry who spoke at the ongoing 28th Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja.
While Governor El-Rufai emphatically said “remove subsidy now,” Obaseki said there is immediate need to ensure improved and stable power supply to drive production in line with the needed industrialisation of the nation.
The Edo State governor said the economy would have been better if the revenues were coming from the states, with the centre relying on the component states for funding.
On his part, Inuwa stressed the need to restructure the nation’s economy in such a way that each state takes priority in areas of comparative advantage.
“What is required is restructuring in whatever form, especially the economy,” he said.
On his part, El-Rufai said the Nigerian story would have been better if recommendations of the National Executive Council (NEC) on federal and state governments’ engagement were implemented, adding that Nigeria needs a framework for engagement and enforcement.
“The only way things can work is when you have collaboration between federal and sub-nationals,” he stated.
Speaking at the event, chairman of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Atedo Peterside, lamented what he described as rigged prosperity, saying one of the biggest problems of Nigeria is a combination of criminals and government.
“The intersection of a few criminals in government is the cause of Nigeria’s many problems,” he said. “Oil theft and petrol subsidy are some of the intersecting points of criminals and people in government.”