Business
WEF: Economist Charges FG On Information Dev
An economist, Mr Odilim
Enwegbara, has urged the Federal Government to boost infrastructure in the country to engender investments that would accrue from the just-concluded World Economic Forum on Africa.
Enwegbara told newsmen in Abuja that critical infrastructure needed to attract desired investments were adequate power, water and roads.
“We must construct roads so that goods and services will move and circulate faster and cheaper. This, no doubt, will attract investors.
“The Federal Government may not necessarily be able to develop the infrastructure nationwide but we can select some coastal areas like Lagos, Akwa Ibom and Rivers to develop.
“China, in 1978, took some coastal areas and developed the infrastructure around those locations into world class proportions.
“Afterwards, every Chinese that was living in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea relocated his business back to China,’’ he said.
Enwegbara said that putting the right policies that would boost industrial development and ensure the security of people would also enhance economic growth in the country.
He said that the cost of doing business in Nigeria was high, adding that, “even when people want to borrow money from the banks, the interest on loan is also very high.”
“Nigeria’s interest rate is highest among emerging countries in the world. High interest rate is bad for the economy because it puts too much pressure on the economy,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria’s monetary policy is run by bankers, and we all know that the main beneficiaries of high interest rate are the banks.
Enwegbara urged the government to push interest rate to a single digit as further incentive for increased investment in the country.
He also called on the government to discourage the importation of goods, which local manufacturers were producing or were capable of producing.
He expressed support for devaluation of the Naira, saying that it would make imported goods more expensive and less attractive, thereby shifting demand in favour of local products.
The economist condemned the privatisation of the power sector in the country, stating that the best economies in the world had their governments in charge of such critical sector.
“ The best economies such as China and the U.S, have their governments in charge of their power sector because it is the engine box of any economy.
“ Nigeria’s government must build power; we cannot hand over power generation entirely to the private sector.
“ If we allow the private sector to control the entire power sector, it will not be in the good interest of the country.
“ What government should have done is to build massive power plants and build transmission grids and hand them over to the private sector for maintenance,’’ he said.
Enwegbara also called on Africans to lend a hand to the continent’s development rather than its current over reliance on Foreign Direct Investments.
“Africans need to look inward; the only way we can develop is if we Africans decide to do so ourselves without relying heavily on FDIs.
“We developed China; Nigerians in the Diaspora scattered all over the world go to China to invest. There are many Nigerians and Africans with huge industries in China.
Some Commercial drivers in Port Harcourt have said that the Federal Government’s N1,350 fuel discount is yet to reduce their daily operating cost.
A cross session of commercial drivers who spoke to The Tide correspondents in Port Harcourt said they are yet to feel the impact of the government discount, adding that most filling stations in the city are even selling above the pump price
A driver Jude Ogbo who operates the mile 1 Rumuokoro axis of Port Harcourt said plies the discount has not reflected in his daily fuel expenses.
“Since the discount was announced, many filling stations still sell at the old price. When you go there, you discover they sell you two litres at the price of one. For now, we have not seen any reduction,”_ he said.
Another commercial driver, Comrade Ishmael Uzeho who operates within the Port Harcourt metropolis, said the discount is not being implemented across the country.
“How has the discount affected us? I will say it has not. Many stations are not working. Only NNPC is working and that is just one person in the whole country. If government really wants to help, let the fuel price go down properly,”_ he said.
Uzeho added that if the price of fuel goes down, transport fares will also go down. He noted that his route fare has remained at N500.
On his part, Mr. Moses Dapa, Supervisor at Sam Jaja Foundation Transport Company, said the company has not increased its fares despite the high cost of fuel.
“We are still running normal price. We charge N2,000 and N5,000 depending on the destination. We will not increase our price. I don’t know about other parks, but for Sam Jaja, we are maintaining normal price,”_ Dapa said.
He appealed to passengers to understand that drivers are not using high fuel price as an excuse to charge excessive fares.
Other drivers who spoke said the federal government should monitor the NNPCL retail stations to ensure that the directive is implemented.
Recalled that The Federal Government in abid to reduce transportation cost in the country had announced a 30-day margin discount at NNPC Retail stations across the country from October 1 to 31,
However investigation revealed that the policy is yet to affect transportation cost in the country.
By; Stephens Sopakriba and Saint Davies
In a press statement released to The Tide’s source on Friday in Abuja, the group said Nigeria had a significant resource advantage due to its vast natural gas reserves.
“At a time when global energy markets face unprecedented volatility and rising operational costs, Nigeria stands on a massive resource advantage with its vast natural gas reserves,” the group said.
Highlighting this potential, Alfa Designs urged the nation to move past complaints over energy costs and aggressively embrace Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as a sustainable engine for economic growth.
While federal policy adjustments have sought to cushion the impact of global energy shocks, industry experts emphasised that long-term relief hinges on a rapid, nationwide transition to gas.
“Transitioning away from expensive traditional petroleum products promises to ease the financial burden on ordinary citizens.
“It will also reposition Nigeria as an attractive industrial hub capable of drawing foreign direct investment and driving job creation,” it said.
To demonstrate the practical feasibility of this transition, the group said it recently partnered with a global Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to lower the entry barriers for commercial drivers.
“By negotiating directly with the manufacturer, we reduced the total cost of acquiring and installing a CNG conversion kit for commercial tricycles (commonly known as Keke NAPEP) from up to N700,000 down to under N450,000.”
The group said this shift offers dramatic immediate financial benefits for local operators, with petrol currently selling at roughly N1,390 per liter.
It said that, in comparison, at a CNG equivalent price of about N98 per liter, a daily commercial driver using 10 liters of fuel reduces its daily energy expenditure from N13,900 to N3,980.
“This represents a daily net savings of N9,920, or more than 71 per cent.
“Over a standard 26-day working month, drivers save over N257,000, allowing them to fully recover the cost of the CNG conversion in less than 46 operational days.”
The company further stated that when scaled nationally, the economic implications are monumental.
“Nigeria consumes approximately 50 million liters of gasoline daily, costing roughly N69.5 billion per day.
“A nationwide 71 per cent reduction in fuel expenditure would generate daily national energy savings of N49.6 billion.
“On an annualised basis, this shift equates to approximately N18.1 trillion, or $13.5 billion, kept within the domestic economy.”
The group added that those recurring national savings would offer a vital mechanism to help address Nigeria’s estimated $2.3 trillion infrastructure deficit.
It said reinvesting those funds into the economy helps eliminate the 30 to 40 per cent operational overhead currently consumed by imported fossil fuels.
“The resulting boost to corporate margins expands the national tax base, generates reliable user-fee revenues to make major transit projects bankable, and creates a self-sustaining financial cycle,” it said.
