Hardship: Mistakes Tinubu made, how he can pull Nigeria out – APC chieftain
The politician is afraid that if the country’s economic crisis is not promptly tackled it may lead to a nationwide protest.
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Edet Nkpubre, has prescribed some steps which he wants President Bola Tinubu to quickly take to tackle the economic hardship in Nigeria, including a declaration of a state of emergency “in all critical sectors of Nigeria”.
Mr Nkpubre, from Akwa Ibom State, is a former national vice chairperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), South-South. He defected last year from the PDP to the APC.
In an open letter to Mr Tinubu which was circulated on some WhatsApp groups over the weekend, Mr Nkpubre said hyperinflation, hunger, and anger “have made a time bomb of Nigerians”.
Mr Nkpubre, on Sunday, confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that he authored the letter.
“The signs of a dangerous crescendo building up are too ominous, too scary, and the momentum too ferocious. The consequences would be dire for our country, democratic experience, and political elites. You must, therefore, move to preempt the breakout of any protest in the magnitude of #EndSARS,” he told the president.
Tinubu’s mistakes
Mr Nkpubre said the removal of the fuel subsidy by President Tinubu was “sudden and uncoordinated”, and that the Nigerian economy has suffered serious disruption because of it.
“Even in advanced countries where power supply is stable and taken for granted, their people enjoy some form of subsidy or the other. Nigeria ought not to be the exception, especially considering that most households and firms generate their power supply.
“Fuel subsidy was the only social welfare programme of (the) government that was guaranteed to trickle down to every last person in the country. It had a profound and direct impact on the welfare and job creation potential of even the poorest Nigerians. Its sudden and uncoordinated removal has unleashed a most fearsome and debilitating austerity on the people,” he said.
“I am aware that abuses, dubious and corrupt activities associated with the fuel subsidy programme elicited patriotic calls for its abrogation, however, its implementation should not have been hurried nor the consequences of its removal not planned for.
“I must concede that what has been done has been done. But the strategic importance of the price of fuel to the economy cannot be over-emphasised, as it affects and is affected by the exchange rate. The price of goods and other costs of living that have skyrocketed to the high heavens are a direct consequence of the high prices of petroleum products in an era of exchange rate deregulation.”
Steps Tinubu should take
The APC chieftain recommended some steps President Tinubu could take to improve the economy.
He said the federal government should work with Dangote Refinery, Port Harcourt Refinery, Kaduna Refinery, and Modular Refineries to deliberately bring down drastically the price of fuel within a specific time frame.
“We cannot continue with the present pricing of petroleum products. It is unacceptable and severely detrimental to the survival of the poor masses,” he said.
“While the government is working on diversifying and improving the foreign exchange earning capacity of the country, it would be unproductive to hinge the value of our currency on the raw forces of demand and supply without also working on reducing the pressure on available foreign earnings.
“Our currency is our sovereignty, but the shocking and massive devaluation that your policy brought on it has eroded confidence in the naira as a store of value. Most Nigerians have resorted to converting their wealth to other currencies due to a complete loss of confidence in the present and future value of the naira. This adds to the foreign exchange woes of our currency.”
Mr Nkpubre recommended the following measures to help lift the value of naira:
(a.) All individuals and registered corporate entities operating in Nigeria should be barred from demanding payments in foreign currencies. No matter the value, government agencies should charge fees for services rendered within Nigeria in our currency. This will help boost confidence in the naira.
(b.) All exports, both oil and non-oil exports, should be properly documented, and the proceeds repatriated via a designated account with the CBN. The exporters should only be entitled to the proceeds in our local currency, the naira.
(c.) The government must revisit the owners and operators of oil wells in Nigeria, with a view to ensuring that the proceeds of businesses are repatriated through CBN designated accounts.(d.) All Nigerian registered businesses should be barred from holding their board meetings outside the country, while it should be mandatory for them to declare their dividends in the currency of the host country, Nigeria.
‘Stop Nigerians from going abroad for education’
Mr Nkpubre recommended that the government should compel Nigerian students not to travel abroad for studies, except in a situation where their preferred course of study is not available in any Nigerian university.
He also recommended that the government should stop Nigerians from travelling abroad for medical treatment, except on issues that cannot be handled in any medical facility in the country.
“Basic Travel Allowance should be allowed only once in five years. Business Travel Allowance must be approved by the Ministry for Trade, which shall review the purpose and the benefits of such travels to the economy of this country,” he said.
For Nigeria’s manufacturing sector to be revived, Mr Nkpubre recommended a review of trade treaties and agreements between Nigeria and other countries and a ban on the importation of several items including private jets and motor vehicles for at least five years.
He said Nigerians should be encouraged to use vehicles assembled or made in Nigeria.
He also recommended a ban on the importation of clothes and shoes including used ones, and processed meat, palm oil, palm kernel, margarine, rice, toothpick and toothpaste, Soap and cosmetics, tomatoes and tomato paste, cement and tiles.
Purchasing of Eurobonds and foreign currency bonds as well as overseas share purchases by Nigerians should be banned by the Nigerian government, he said.
“Our fragile foreign exchange system should not be left open to invasion by speculators who add nothing to the foreign exchange ecosystem. Therefore, all cryptocurrency platforms must be proscribed forthwith,” Mr Nkpubre said.
War on corruption
Mr Nkpubre urged President Tinubu to wage war on corruption and to return Nigeria to a parliamentary system of government or a “remodelled presidential system with a unicameral legislature, where ministers will be appointed therefrom” to cut the cost of running the “over-bloated” government.
“I appreciate your sterling efforts towards streamlining the operations and transparency of the CBN. May I plead that you should extend the investigation to cover the years 2008 to 2023.
“Similarly, a forensic audit of the NNPC from 2008-2023 should be carried out. Our banks and their chief executive officers should be investigated from 2008-2023, particularly as it concerns the integrity of their letters of credit and other foreign exchange transactions.
“All pending EFCC and ICPC cases from 2008-2023 should be brought up for prosecution irrespective of who is involved,” he said.
“Mr President, our political class must show empathy to the masses who are at the receiving end of unfavourable government policies and current economic crisis. Presently, their loud ostentation is insensitive to the plight of the suffering masses.
“Secondly, their invasive and overbearing attitude in the running of agencies of government under the guise of oversight functions leaves much to be desired. This needs to be proactively checked.”