Business
‘Infrastructure Overhaul Will Arrest Inflation’
A financial expert, Prof.
Sherriffdeen Tella, on Thursday urged the Federal Government to address the nation’s critical infrastructure to cushion inflationary pressure on Nigerians and reduce the trend in the long-run.
Tella, a senior economist at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, told newsmen in Lagos that a holistic approach was needed to tackle inflation.
The economist decried the reckless patronage of imported goods by Nigerians, saying the practice continued to put pressure on the naira, “and this fuels inflationary pressure on goods and services’’.
According to him, epileptic power supply nationwide has also made it inevitable for manufacturers to source for alternative sources of power which do not come cheap.
“We cannot arrest the inflation without arresting the massive naira depreciation since we import most raw materials and even finished goods, including food.
“We cannot reduce inflation without improving power since the cost of the alternative to electricity is very high,’’ Tella said.
The don, who explained that boosting domestic production was an essential ingredient in tackling inflation, urged the CBN to reduce the lending rate.
Tella emphasised that tackling inflation in the short-term would require a stable and firm currency, reduction in the lending rates and the consumption of locally produced goods.
In the medium/long-term, he called for an improvement in power supply and domestic production.
Reports say that records from the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that inflation has risen from 16.2 per cent in July to 17.13 per cent in August.
Since the CBN removed its peg on the exchange rate, the naira has continued to depreciate at the parallel market, exchanging at N425 to the dollar.
The CBN had, in its last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, increased its lending rate from 13 to 14 per cent, a move that attracted lots of criticisms from financial experts.
Pundits in the financial sector expect that the apex bank, in its next MPC meeting scheduled to hold between September 19 and September 20, needs to reduce the lending rate to stimulate the economy.
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Blue Economy: Minister Seeks Lifeline In Blue Bond Amid Budget Squeeze

Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy is seeking new funding to implement its ambitious 10-year policy, with officials acknowledging that public funding is insufficient for the scale of transformation envisioned.
Adegboyega Oyetola, said finance is the “lever that will attract long-term and progressive capital critical” and determine whether the ministry’s goals take off.
“Resources we currently receive from the national budget are grossly inadequate compared to the enormous responsibility before the ministry and sector,” he warned.
He described public funding not as charity but as “seed capital” that would unlock private investment adding that without it, Nigeria risks falling behind its neighbours while billions of naira continue to leak abroad through freight payments on foreign vessels.
He said “We have N24.6 trillion in pension assets, with 5 percent set aside for sustainability, including blue and green bonds,” he told stakeholders. “Each time green bonds have been issued, they have been oversubscribed. The money is there. The question is, how do you then get this money?”
The NGX reckons that once incorporated into the national budget, the Debt Management Office could issue the bonds, attracting both domestic pension funds and international investors.
Yet even as officials push for creative financing, Oloruntola stressed that the first step remains legislative.
“Even the most innovative financial tools and private investments require a solid public funding base to thrive.
It would be noted that with government funding inadequate, the ministry and capital market operators see bonds as alternative financing.
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