The Chief Executive Officer at Economic Associates (EA), Dr. Ayo Teriba, has faulted the federal government long term reliance on commodity export to shore up an hailing economy. He said emerging economies such as India, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt are already looking beyond boosting commodity export to taking advantage of global liquidity glut through foreign direct investment; privatization, revaluation and commercialization of government assets.
Speaking at a conference organised to dissect and proffer solutions to the nation’s economy, this week, Dr. Teriba advised that Nigeria must necessarily restrategise to improve its fiscal liquidity to navigate the intricacies of 2020.
His analyses covered areas such as global risks, economic risks, policy risks and opportunities.
Addressing the new global realities, the expert cited India and Egypt’s growth strategies, outlined as LPG (Liberalization, Privatization and Globalisation) and MEGA (Make Egypt Great Again) respectively, as pointers to a shift in nations’ approach to economic development.
He encouraged the nation’s policy makers to take advantage of foreign investors who are looking for viable economies to channel investment, by privatizing partially-owned or wholly owned government assets.
And whereas India and Egypt have installed various policies that have opened up their economy to FDI; and Saudi Arabia is also making reforms to improve its global reputation and boost investors confidence in the kingdom, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the economic council must address hitches in existing economic policies to help the economic become attractive.
For instance, faulting the CBN’s monetary policy, Dr. Teriba strongly believe that “Sacrificing economic recovery, growth and employment for reversible portfolio inflows that may never arrive is too much of a cost on the economy.”
He added, “CBN’s policy stance should soften to give growth a chance”