….Canvass Policy Directions To lift The Economy

Public Affairs experts and economists have warned the incoming government about policy loopholes that can derail the administration.

They identified critical areas that have presently put Nigeria in bad shape which should be of major concern to the Bola Tinubu Administration.

These pit holes include: Risk-unconscious over-dependence on hydrocarbons – oil accounted for 90.5% of merchandise trade in 2022; Poor policy coordination – Expansionary fiscal operations, driven by massive borrowings vis-à-vis contractionary monetary policy; Fiscal inefficiency and revenue leakages – recourse to borrowing (it is relatively easy) and doing so inefficiently (largely through CBN), largely funding recurrent expenditure; Counterproductive fiscal policies– Fiscal Policy Reform (FPR) weakening manufacturing activities and new investments; Misplaced priorities – Deepening brown economy and disregarding sub-national comparative advantage, and discourages productivity and weak social compact.

These were part of submissions at the 3^rd National Policy Dialogue webinar organized by the Public Affairs Service of CMC Connect LLP, Perception Consulting, which took place on Thursday, May 11, 2023.

The Webinar themed ‘Setting a Fiscal Policy Agenda for The Bola Ahmed Tinubu Administration’, aimed to foster a national discourse on the fiscal policy direction of the incoming government especially in the areas of regulations, taxation, excise duties, and other policies that are making the ecosystem unfriendly for business growth.

The keynote Speaker, a distinguished economist renowned for his expertise in fiscal policy, banking, finance, and public sector consulting, Dr. Abiodun Adedipe stated that “The fiscal inefficiency, revenue leakages, misplaced priorities, risk-unconscious over-dependence on hydrocarbons, poor policy coordination, and counterproductive fiscal policies are the major reasons Nigeria is in a bad shape. However, I believe this discourse will serve as a platform to tell the incoming government the need to engage the private sector deeply in formulating and reshaping economic policies that will make Nigeria and the productive sectors bounce back, thereby promoting a better Nigeria,” he said.

Furthermore, he said, “What we are selling to Tinubu`s administration is to set an agenda for ourselves, to be the top 10 economy in ten years’ time”. Dr. Adedipe eloquently elaborated on strategic directions for Bola Tinubu Government. He said, immediately, the incoming government should match non-oil revenue to recurrent spending, aggressively promote exports to the world market starting with African countries; strengthen domestic manufacturing, and interrogate the nexus between import and export tariffs.

Elaborating further, the policy expert and Chief Consultant at B. Adedipe Associates, recommended that the Tinubu government should ensure actionable, consistent, and coherent fiscal, trade, and monetary policies by promoting high-level actions on policy coordination and ownership, unified voice on policy pronouncement, setting the right tone at the top, revamp reform on Ease of Doing Business, evaluate policies based on deliverables. He espoused that the government must expand non-oil fiscal space, push for tax/GDP ratio of 15% and above, and align fiscal, monetary, and trade policies.

The dialogue had a panel of discussants drawn from different sectors of the economy. They include Mr. Tilewa Adebajo, Chief Executive Officer of CFG Advisory; Mr. Vivian Ikem, Corporate Affairs and Communications Director at Japan Tobacco International; Mrs. Sade Morgan, Corporate Affairs Director at Nigerian Breweries Plc, ably represented by Mr. Uzo Odenigbo, Head of Public, External and Government Affairs, Nigerian Breweries Plc.

In his own submission, the Corporate Affairs and Communications Director at Japan Tobacco International, JTI, Mr. Vivian Ikem, who was a panelist, spoke about issues on policy consistency, stating that inconsistency in government policies can affect the drive of foreign direct investments. He urged the incoming government to ensure consistency of policies. He emphasized that the incoming government should ensure tight control of the illicit market and stop adulterated products from grey markets from being dumped into the country. Nigeria, in its present state he said, is a difficult place to do business. The incoming government should endeavor to reform the current fiscal policy and the civil service.

Other panelists Uzo Odenigbo and Tilewa Adebajo both submitted that the economy under the Tinubu administration should be data driven. Data is key in comparative fiscal analysis with other markets and in policy formulations. Adebajo advised that the incoming government should be people-centric in its policy formulations. Oil subsidy, he stated should not be removed at once. It has to be a gradual removal while refineries are being brought to optimal performance.

The former Ogun State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, and presently the Board Chairman of Odua Group Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, advised the incoming president to be very altruistic in his appointments into key positions that are germane to the success or otherwise of his administration. The former banker wants Mr. Bola Tinubu to follow in the footsteps of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo administration, by appointing Nigerians with the capacity to run the economy irrespective of tribe, religion, and party affiliation. He emphasized that the incoming administration should also prioritize agricultural transformation being the largest employer of labour and contributor to the gross domestic product of the economy.

Earlier in his welcome remarks, the moderator Mr. Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, founder and Lead Partner at CMC Connect LLP, stated that “to achieve optimal growth and broadly shared prosperity, monetary policy must compliment physical goals”. Badejo-Okusanya enumerated key areas of failure of the Buhari administration, bringing out baseline facts and data on macroeconomic indicators from where Nigeria was in 2015 and where the nation is presently.

In his closing remarks, Partner, and Head of Public Affairs Service at CMC Connect LLP, Adetola Odusote, assured that “In our quest to make business thrive, government thrive and our nation to thrive, we at CMC Connect LLP shall continue with our National Policy Dialogue Series, a convergent platform for public affairs experts to champion policy direction for the government.. We have had policy Dialogue on Education and we brought the then Hon Minister of State for Education Mr Chukwumenka Nwajiuba, while the Hon Minister for Communication and Digital Economy Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami was our guest speaker when we held policy dialogue on Digital Economy and Fintech industry”.

Odusote revealed that key insights and submissions gathered from the dialogue series will be made available to the incoming government. “Our objective is to contribute to shaping a more prosperous and sustainable economic landscape for Nigeria. Our specialised services cover, Stakeholders Engagement, Government Relations, Lobbying, Advocacy & Issues Management, Strategic Communication, Crisis Management, Policy Research and Analysis.

CMC Connect LLP is a strategic communications firm headquartered in Lagos, and liaison office in Abuja, Nigeria.. The firm offers Public Relations, Reputation Risk Management, Publicity and Media Management, Financial Communications, Capacity Building, and ancillary marketing services to several companies including telecommunication giant, Airtel Nigeria. CMC Connect LLP was also recently awarded the ‘Best Place to Work’ at the Lagos State PR Industry Awards.

Signed:

Adetola Odusote

Partner, Public Affairs,

CMC Connect LLP,

Perception Consulting.

….To Set Fiscal Policy Agenda for Tinubu Administration

Rashidat Okunlade Writes

The Management of CMC Connect LLP, one of Africa’s leading perception management and public affairs consulting firms, is set to host public and regulatory affairs practitioners in the private and public sectors to a national discourse in the area of fiscal policy direction for the incoming government.

The program is billed for Thursday May 11, 2023, via an online webinar platform between 10:00 am and 12:00 noon. Theme: “Setting a Fiscal Policy Agenda for the Bola Tinubu Administration”. Keynote Speaker is Dr. Abiodun Adedipe, a distinguished economist with expertise in fiscal policy, banking, finance, and public sector consulting. The program will be moderated by Mr. Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, founder and Lead Partner at CMC Connect LLP.

The dialogue will have a panel of discussants drawn from different sectors of the economy. They include Mr Tilewa Adebajo, Chief Executive Officer at The CFG Advisory; Mr Vivian Ikem, Corporate Affairs and Communications Director at Japan Tobacco International, among others.

The discourse is designed as a convergent platform for private sector players in public and Regulatory affairs to make case for their business interest on key issues around fiscal policies and regulatory challenges in Nigeria.

Speaking on the policy dialogue session, Adetola Odusote, Partner, Public Affairs at CMC Connect LLP, explained that “as Nigerians await the swearing of the President-Elect, many businesses are anticipating with bated breath, the direction of the new administration’s fiscal policy. The last eight years have been very challenging for most Nigerian businesses and the hope is that the new administration will institute significant pro-business policy reforms that will re-inflate the economy,

“CMC Connect’s 3rd National Policy Dialogue, a non-political, non-partisan, pro-business platform, will bring together key stakeholders with the objective of aggregating views and making very incisive recommendations on how best the next government can move the Nigerian economy forward”, Odusote stated.

By Olusola Okunlade 

There is a strong indication that the economy may be heading towards further economic growth, as His Excellency, Professor Benedict Okey Oramah, CON, FCIB, President and Chairman Board of Directors, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) will be discussing critical issues that will give further insights into the economic transformation of Africa at the 2023 Annual Lecture of The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, CIBN scheduled for Wednesday, March 29, 2023, 10:00 am at the Grand Banquet Hall, Civic Centre, Ozumba Mbadiwe Road, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The theme of the Lecture is “Unlocking the Constraints to Africa’s Economic Transformation: Insights into the Power of Capital” and will be facilitated by Professor Oramah who is the Guest Speaker of the event.

The CIBN Annual Lecture is a public enlightenment program aimed at keeping members of the public constantly abreast of topical economic issues and policies of government at the national and international levels. This year’s edition of the Lecture will assemble chieftains of the banking and finance industry, top public officials, foreign diplomats, members of the academia, top executives of the organised private sector as well as other stakeholders in the Nigerian economy who will dimension and articulate clear strategies on how to address the impediments to Africa’s economic development.

In a bid to ensure that Nigerians from all walks of life benefit from the conversation, the Institute has made the program free of charge for participants.

Over the years, the event has attracted globally respected scholars and professionals such as Honourable Justice Emmanuel Ayoola, CON, (Rtd), the Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices & Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC); Professor John C. Anyanwu, former Lead Research Economist, African Development Bank; the late Professor Dora Akunyili, Director-General, National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration Control (NAFDAC); Sir Ademola Benjamin Aladekomo, Founder and Chairman, CHAMS Plc; Dr. Andrew Hilton, Director and Joint Founder, Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation(CSFI) United Kingdom; Professor Osita Ogbu, OON, former Minister of National Planning and Chief Economic adviser to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, CON, President, African Development Bank; Mr. Michael Lafferty, Founder and Chairman, the Lafferty Group; Professor Kingsley C. Moghalu, Professor of Practice in International Business and Public Policy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and the Founder of Sogato Strategies LLC; Mr. George Lewis, Chairman and Portfolio Manager, Royal Bank of Canada(RBC); Professor Melvin Ayogu, ACIB, Fellow, Mapungubwe Institute of Strategic Reflection, South Africa among others.

To ensure that this year’s event is unique and impactful, the Institute has set up an Implementation Supervisory Committee, chaired by Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, FCIB, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc. Other members of the Committee are Dr. Adaeze Udensi, Managing Director, Titan Trust Bank; Dr. Ozoemena Nnaji, Director, Trade and Exchange, Central Bank of Nigeria; Mr. Abubakar A. Bello, Managing Director/Chief Executive, Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM); and Mr. Ekene Uzor, Special Assistant to the President on Banking and Strategy, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

Ken Opara, Ph.D., FCIB, President/Chairman of Council, CIBN is the Chief Host of the occasion while Akin Morakinyo, HCIB, Registrar/CE, CIBN is the host of the Occasion.