The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, has hinted that in days to come, his new roadmap for the apex bank and the struggling economy will come.
Speaking briefly after taking oath for his second term in office following his reappointment by President Muhammadu Buhari and the express confirmation by the Senate, he noted that the expected roadmap will be coming on the heels of planned series of consultations with critical stakeholder groups.
Emefiele made it clear that “We must strengthen our efforts over the coming years to stimulate growth and job creation in critical sectors of the economy, which will help insulate our economy from shocks in the global economy.
“We must also work to build a healthy and stable financial system that will contribute to the growth of our economy, while preserving price stability,” he said.
While agreeing that “the pace of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth remained fragile and was below the rate of Nigeria’s annual population growth at 2.7 per cent,” Emefiele said more work still needed to be done in building a stronger economy for the benefit of all.
However, even before he begins the said consultations, critical stakeholders have started coming up with strategic reforms that need to be done if the ailing economy must recover as soon as possible.
Already, the leadership of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), had last week raised issues of urgent national importance, calling on the presidency and key agencies of the government including the CBN to review the nation’s tax system and the prevailing multiplicity in forex rate regime.
Director General of the Chamber, Mr Muda Yusuf, argued that the system of tax administration which targets only manufacturers without recourse to consumers remains counterproductive in modern economy.
He decried the endless official racketeering in access to forex which he said is seen in the multiplicity of rates governing the entire forex regime.
