Sanusi, Elumelu give antidote on how to reduce spending, grow economy
Two leading economic experts, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II and the Chairman, United Bank for Africa Plc, Mr. Tony Elumelu, have advised the National Assembly to give priority to bills capable of moving the economy forward.
Speaking in Abuja shortly after they were conferred with the Fellowship of the Nigerian Economic Society (NES) at the 58th annual conference of the society on Wednesday, Sanusi said certain decisions, designed to suite the political structure of the country are hitting the economy.
Some of the cost soaking decisions include the mandatory arrangements for each state to have a minister, as well as a certain number of legislative seats at the federal, states and local governments remain the foundation for excess overhead cost of running the federal government.
He argued that rather than maintaining such cost ineffective structure, the best bet now is for states to tap into their resources to deepen their economies rather than rely on the Federal Government for monthly allocations at a time the coffers of the federal government are getting smaller by the day.
In his remarks, the chairman of UBA and heirs Holdings, Elumelu averred that several legislative works are needed to unlock the potential of the economy, saying time has come to for the creation of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria through legislation as an example of what good legislation could do.
According to him, “We need the system to work by itself. We need to hold the National Assembly accountable.
“We need to encourage the National Assembly and hold them accountable. We need the National Assembly to help us pass progressive bills to help our country.”
He further called on the was
Elumelu also urged the NES to made critical recommendations to the government on how best to recalibrate the economy on the path of recovery to avoid slipping back to recession if oil prices go down again.
