Osinbajo Insists Nigeria’ll Witness Turn-Around …Soludo Regrets Economic Recession, Seeks Resource Control

Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has expressed faith in the determination of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to ensure a turn-around through commitment and dedication to entrenching sustainable economy for the nation, despite recent economic downturns.
The vice president, who stated this, last Friday, at the Delta State Economic and Investment Summit to mark the silver jubilee of Delta State in Asaba, disclosed that the commitment was dependent on the policy trust of the Federal Government to reposition Nigeria.
Osinbajo, however, lauded Delta State Government’s Private, Public Partnership (PPP) initiative in driving the state’s economy, as he explained that prosperity was often time sought through the effective collaboration with the private sector that are in turn expected to contribute to the states and national development.
He urged the state to intensity efforts at ensuring sustained, peaceful engagement with agitators in the Niger Delta region to engender peace that would attract meaningful investment development and revive the dwindling nation’s economy.
Earlier in his address, Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, had hinted that in a bid to create an enabling environment for investors, the state government has established the Peace Building Advisory Committee to engage the youth in productive deals and also help curb restiveness, criminality and among youth.
In his keynote address, President, African Heritage Institution and former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, urged the present administration to wake up from its slumber after a year and three months down the lane.
Maintaining that the current economic recession in Nigeria was “self-inflicted and avoidable”, Soludo urged the Federal Government to “unchain and unbundle” the economy by allowing for resource control, if the present downturn must become a thing of the past.
“At this stage, Nigeria needs a political and economic revamping to enjoy peace. Regions should control their resources but pay the necessary taxes to the Federal Government. You own the land, following the Land Use Act, that gives you the comparative advantage to control what you have, but you pay your dues in form of tax.”
He explained that unless the current bottlenecks surrounding the exchange rate were removed, the problems bedevilling Nigeria’s economy would remain, and efforts at overcoming them would be a ruse.
“Now exchange rate has over-shoot, and this is self-inflicted. Remove the bills, the whole problems would disappear. But as long as the bureaucracies are still there, the economy will continue to haemorrhage. It is wrong as the situation is today; it will remain wrong tomorrow and will remain wrong forever,” he warned.

Albert Ograka, Asaba