Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has revealed how he is anticipating the end of his tenure in the Presidency, in order to proffer critiques of policies formulated by the Federal Government.
Osinbajo made this remark on Monday during his opening statement at the 28th Nigerian Economic Summit, in Abuja.
The summit is themed; ‘2023 & Beyond: Priorities for Shared Prosperity.
Speaking on the challenges faced by the current administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari, the Vice-President itemized the policies formulated to stabilize the country’s economy.
He also reinforced the importance of healthy debt servicing while increasing productivity and value addition for a vibrant economy.
Osinbajo said, “I can’t wait to join you on that side where on an annual basis, I can insult the government to my heart’s content.
“What matters is our debt service to revenue ratio which is high and increasing our revenues should be encouraged via productivity and value addition.
This means more job opportunities which cascade into more tax revenue.
“It is true that the Federal Government had to create the environment for private businesses by revamping the ports, restriction on imports et al.
“How best to manage the situation is a discussion we must have; a mechanism that encourages transparency. We just increase supply which will boost the confidence of local businesses and foreign investors.”
The Vice-President also revealed that inflation has to be tackled since it impacts the economy directly due to its insidious effects on the poor.
“Inflation has to be tackled head-on because it is a tax on the poor and this is due to infrastructural deficiencies, imported inflation via the depreciation of the Naira. We need to increase domestic production, especially in the food sector.
“Regulation is important, especially regarding technological trends; this means FG must continue to evolve while building on the achievements of FinTech companies and innovators,” he noted.
Nigeria’s inflation rate surged to 20.77% in September 2022, up from 20.52% recorded in the previous month.
The new Consumer Price Index (CPI) report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that Nigeria’s CPI rose by 20.77% year-on-year in September 2022. On a month-on-month basis, the index rose by 1.36% compared to the 1.77% increase recorded in the previous month.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the increase in the country’s inflation rate may be attributable to the disruption in the supply of food products, the increase in import cost as a result of depreciating currency, and the general increase in the cost of production.
