The Federal Government has been advised to sustain the ongoing reforms despite the hardship on Nigerians.
The World Bank Vice President and Chief Economist, Mr Indermit Gill, who gave this advice, also hailed the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for the unification of the exchange rates.
Speaking at the opening session of the #NES30# in Abuja, Gill admitted that the reforms of the present administration had brought hardship to Nigerians, especially the vulnerable poor, assuring that it was the only way out for the economy.
He called on the federal government to provide cost-effective safety nets to protect the most vulnerable people from the hash impact of the reforms.
Gill noted that to return the nation’s economy to the path of sustainable growth, Nigeria must sustain the reforms that, if allowed, would transform the Nigerian economy and that of the entire Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to him, “I don’t know if you agree with me or you don’t agree with me. If he does that it will transform the economy of Sub-Saharan Africa.”
He admitted that it is very difficult to do these things, but the rewards are massive, stressing that it is the lesson from the last 40 years as well as countries such as Norway, Poland and Korea.
Gill opined that Nigeria’s reforms from 2003 to 2007 were exactly what Nigerians needed, but they were not sustained, saying that today’s fiscal and monetary reforms are hurting everyone especially ordinary Nigerians who are struggling with high prices of food and transport.
He stated that the government must do everything in its power to protect the most vulnerable citizens against hardships, stressing that their lives and the lives 110 million children depend on it.
He enjoined the federal government to stay the course of the reforms because Nigeria’s future and the future of these 110 million children depend on it, assuring that during the coming years, Nigeria’s policymakers have to prioritise non-oil exports.
He added that the exchange rate that Nigeria now has is the most effective in 20 years, believing that it is a great opportunity that Nigeria must build foreign reserves as a buffer against oil volatility, while saying that Governor Cardoso is doing many of the things and think he should be encouraged.
He stressed that every vulnerable household needs government support to be able to survive the current difficulties, install cost-effective safety nets to protect the most vulnerable people and financing it from some of the savings from fuel subsidies and the exchange rate savings.
Gill believed that Nigerians’ need for jobs is immense, believing that in the next ten years, more than 12 million Nigerians would enter the workforce and stressed the need to generate jobs for them, and the need to attract investments, especially in the non-oil sector.
World Bank Vice President tells Tinubu to sustain ongoing reforms despite hardship in Nigeria