Nigerians have set the New Year agenda for President Bola Tinubu’s administration, saying the Federal Government must end economic hardship which has made life unbearable in the country.

The 2023 Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, and the Ekiti Elders’ Forum, in separate statements on Sunday, lamented that Nigerians were finding it difficult to survive.

Also, some stakeholders in the manufacturing sector, in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria, said Nigeria needed a specific blueprint to critically address the impact of inflationary pressures on all economic activities in the country.

Tinubu had on the assumption of office on May 29, 2023, removed the fuel subsidy, which subsequently led to the increase in the price of petrol from N185 to between N620 and N650.

The fuel subsidy removal has also impacted the inflationary trend. According to the National Bureau of Statistics’ Consumer Price Index November 2023’ report, headline inflation surged to 28.20 per cent in November from 27.33 per cent in October.

Atiku in his New Year message on Sunday described 2023 as a challenging year, adding that the lessons would prepare Nigeria for the future that 2024 holds.

Families groan

The former Vice-President, who berated the Federal Government’s economic policy, said, “Certainly, many families and businesses already know the intensity of the trying times that we are currently going through – though we could have taken a completely different pathway, had the government been smarter with their policy prescriptions.”

The former vice president charged the government to show a clear direction for its policy projections and desist from the subsisting behaviour of groping in the dark.

Also, the Ekiti Council of Elders bemoaned the economic hardship plaguing Nigerians and called on the Federal Government to increase efforts to address the challenges.

The council’s President, Prof. Joseph Oluwasanmi; General Secretary, Elder Niyi Ajibulu; and Public Relations Officer, Dr Bayo Orire, however, lauded the Federal Government for the resuscitation of the Port Harcourt petrochemical refinery.

Oluwasanmi, Ajibulu, and Orire, in a “press statement” conveying the council’s New Year message in Ado Ekiti on Sunday, also expressed satisfaction with “the ongoing efforts to uncover and prosecute the criminal cabal seemingly sworn to the destruction of Nigeria through stealing and other acts of pillaging its wealth by executive fiat.

“The council notes with concern the continuing economic hardship plaguing the majority of Nigerians. It is expected that the Federal Government will step up efforts to address this in the New Year.

“The council acknowledges the palliative measures as well as the structural reforms being undertaken by the federal and state governments to stabilize and revitalise the economy to enhance the wellbeing of the people,” the leaders stated.

An associate professor of Entrepreneurship at the Kwara State University Dr Zekeri Abu, told NAN that Nigeria must consciously begin to invest in its area of comparative advantage and strength to grow the economy.

He noted that for Nigeria, common causes of inflation in the year had been traced to the removal of the fuel subsidy, increase in price of food items, port congestion, high cost of manufacturing production, and import inflation, among others.

The associate professor recalled that serious exporting countries like Japan, the United Kingdom, China, Germany, the United States of America and India, Canada invest massively in manufacturing, value-chain, and ecosystem, in products of everyday use such as textiles, automobiles, food, technology, pharmaceuticals, and oil.

“With this in mind, it has become very important for Nigeria to begin to balance her trade by shoring up its exports to become a trade giant, accumulate more foreign exchange to boost the country’s reserves and exert confidence in its economy.

“The will-power of the Federal Government must now be focused on areas where the country has a comparative advantage such as agriculture to begin export of finished products like rice, cocoa, and livestock.

“Government must further invest in the required level of skill acquisition, knowledge, research, and technological innovation to enhance the country’s manufacturing sector, address import inflation and create massive employment opportunities.’’

MAN advises FG

On his part, the Director-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Mr Segun Ajayi-Kadir, in an interview with NAN advocated major infrastructural facilities to facilitate the aggregation of raw materials for export to develop the domestic economy and its people.

Ajayi-Kadir said that several initiatives aimed at developing the economy had various degrees of success and failures, noting that the performance of the manufacturing sector had been largely unimpressive as the country remained a largely import-dependent country.

According to him, local manufacturing, though experiencing some measure of progress in light manufacturing, still largely depends on foreign inputs.

He listed a number of factors inhibiting the growth and development of the economy, among which are power and transport and ports, due to unfavourable policies.

He noted that the manufacturing sector contributes less than 10 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product due to inflation, which has risen to about 30 per cent.

This, he said, was even as the interest rate at double digits continues to limit the potential of the sector for expansion due to high rate of foreign exchange and the non-prioritisation of allocation to the sector that truncates its growth prospect.

The Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr Chinyere Almona, described the current inflation as the highest since August 2005 which had continued to reflect in the depreciation of the Naira, high price of petroleum products and food prices.

She noted that inflation of food and non-alcoholic beverages had remained the highest contributor at 14.61 percent.

Almona stressed that though inflation had been accelerating for eleven consecutive months, the battle must be checked by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“We anticipate economic agents, including households and businesses, to continue to deploy strategies that will mitigate inflationary pressures.

“The CBN is responsible for formulating and implementing monetary policies that foster currency stability. This involves a delicate balance between managing inflation, ensuring a competitive exchange rate, and promoting economic growth.

“Therefore, the CBN needs to adopt a well-calibrated policy mix that addresses the unique challenges facing the Nigerian economy.

“By promoting economic diversification, implementing effective interest rate policies, managing the exchange rate judiciously, and embracing inflation targeting, the CBN can contribute significantly to ensuring the stability of the Naira and fostering a robust and resilient economy,” she said.

The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise Founder, Dr Muda Yusuf, in a chat with NAN, stated that the country’s current fiscal deficit is highly inflationary, lamenting that the global energy situation and rural-to-urban migration among others have affected agricultural productivity.

As a way forward, Yusuf, a private sector activist, urged the government to address exchange rates, energy costs, insecurity, and climate change dynamics such as flooding.

“We must begin to consider what can be done about the environment and also enhance our local refinery to reduce pressure on foreign exchange.

“The government also needs to invest heavily in rail logistics because it is now expensive to move goods on the roads given the state of our roads.

“There’s absolutely no need to move cattle, food, among others, over hundreds of kilometres by road when just one rail would move what hundred trucks can carry,” he said.

Kwara gov

In his New Year message, the Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq sought support for the Federal Government’s economic reforms.

The governor in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, commended Kwarans for always acting out the epithet of being a state of harmony which is a major selling point of Kwara State.

Assuring that the government will continue to deliver on its core mandate of ensuring the safety of lives and properties, maintaining law and order, and providing basic amenities and infrastructure within available resources, he called for more positive energy and constructive engagement of various agencies of government and representatives of the people for better service deliveries.

In his message, former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki congratulated Nigerians on the beginning of the New Year 2024 and urged his fellow citizens to work hard in their different corners towards improving the general socio-political and economic situation of the country in the new year.

Saraki in a statement signed by the head of his Media Office, Yusuph Olaniyonu, noted that the various indices showed that the country is facing a huge challenge on different fronts which has negatively affected the standard of living of the majority of the people.

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, congratulated Nigerians for making it to the New Year and advised them to renew their hope that Nigeria could be better.

Akpabio said this in a New Year message issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Eseme Eyiboh in Abuja on Sunday.

He stated, “I wish to use the occasion of this New Year to congratulate our countrymen and women for successfully stepping into 2024. I wish to reassure you that things will turn for the better in the year 2024, Keep believing in us and we shall surely deliver on our promises.

“The Executive arm of government and indeed members of the National Assembly are not oblivious of the sacrifices you are making, I still appeal to you not to lose faith in Nigeria but be hopeful and prayerful.

“I want to assure you that it will not be long before you will start reaping the benefits of voting the present government to power. The president is committed, the National Assembly is intentional and the Renewed Hope Agenda is real and we will not fail you.”

Some Civil Society Organisations have called on Nigerians to support security agencies and President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, to enable the government to deliver on its promises in 2024.

The Coalition for Peace In Nigeria (COPIN) and the Iconoclast Media made the call in a joint statement on Sunday in Abuja.

The statement signed by the National Coordinator of COPIN, Mr Emeka Akwuobi and the National Secretary of Iconoclast, Dr Mayago Mayago, said, “Security has become a whole-of-society business globally,”

It said the involvement of citizens, through the provision of human intelligence, will guarantee victory against non-state actors in the country.

The CSOs appealed to well-meaning Nigerians, especially the youths, to eschew divisive tendencies and resist attempts by subversive elements to use them as “cannon fodder”.

It said both intelligence and security agencies had continued to put in their best to secure the lives and property of the citizenry, as well as sustain the inviolability of the State.

The groups expressed optimism that the reforms initiated by the Tinubu-led administration would start yielding the desired outcomes in 2024.

“As we await the New Year, we enjoin Nigerians to support the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu.

“As patriotic, non-profit organisations, we have studied the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President and we believe that he is irrevocably committed to turning around of the country for good.

“We must discharge our civic duty and obligation with patriotic zeal and dedication, bearing in mind that government’s success, or otherwise is dependent on the extent of citizens’ support and participation,” the statement said.

The statement urged the public to fulfill their social contract obligation and trust the government to discharge her burden of guaranteeing security and public safety.