The Institute of Char
tered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) has called on the Federal Government to urgently address the insecurity challenges in the country as the development is adversely affecting the economy.
The President of ICSAN, Dr. Suleyman Ndanusa, stated this while addressing journalists in Abuja last Wednesday on the activities lined up for the 38th annual conference of the institute.
Ndanusa, who is also the current Chairman of the Board of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), noted that while the country had recorded significant improvement in key sectors of the economy, the issue of insecurity had become worrisome.
He explained that despite the fact that the country’s Gross Domestic Product had been on the increase in recent times, poverty and unemployment still remain an issue that had not been effectively addressed.
Nigeria’s relative poverty measurement figure, according to the National Bureau of Statistics stood at 69 per cent (or 112,518,507 Nigerians).
The North-West and North-East geo-political zones had the highest poverty rates in the country with 77.7 per cent and 76.3 per cent respectively.
Among states, Sokoto had the highest poverty rate at 86.4 per cent, while the unemployment rate in the country currently stands at 23.9 per cent.
However, for the benefits of economic growth to sufficiently trickle down, Ndanusa said there is need for policies that would help achieve inclusive growth and poverty reduction.
He said, “The issue of concern about the security situation in the country has affected every segment of the nation’s economy.
“It goes without saying that the present situation has grave governance implication which cannot be swept under the carpet.
“The security crisis we are experiencing have a lot of economic undertone. When you have youth unemployment, poverty, then you create a ready-made potential for battalions of people that can be used by all kinds of extremists.
“What we need in the immediate to long term is economic policies that actually impact on the citizens because growth and GDP is not enough. But how does it affect the food on the table, unemployment, break the circle of poverty and how do we bring credit for small scale businesses.”
He said the institute would use the theme of this year’s conference, “Nigeria of tomorrow: The challenge of growth, security and governance,” to provide a platform for policy makers to take critical look at issues as they affect the economy.
The ICSAN president said the institute would continue to promote the ethics of corporate governance at all levels of government in Nigeria adding that this would help ensure a better place for the people.