According to Philip Shaibu, former Deputy Governor of Edo, President Bola Tinubu has demonstrated a clear commitment to economic stability over the past year, implementing tangible measures to shore up the nation’s financial foundations.
Fresh from his installation as Patron of Edo Journalists in Abuja, Philip Shaibu shared his thoughts with journalists in Abuja, predicting that the economy will rebound from its present woes, given the administration’s steadfast commitment to driving economic recovery.
”I want to say that I am seeing conscious effort by the president to stabilise the economy.
“I see him working really hard, trying to bring experts, trying to get international community to buy into his vision of developing and growing our economy’’, Shaibu said.
Philip Shaibu opined that Nigeria’s economy is a deeply entrenched labyrinth, defying quick fixes, and necessitating a thorough understanding of its nuances, making it unrealistic to expect a complete turnaround within a single year.
”We know that. But in terms of infrastructure, I see conscious efforts to build infrastructure, which is also a driver of the economy.
”I saw what he did in Lagos just three days ago, and in Abuja, I’m seeing lots of bridges being constructed.
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”Like in my own street, for more than 10 years, Arab contractors abandoned the roads, including my street and the bridge connecting to zone one and seven, within six, seven months the road is ready for commissioning.
”So for me, infrastructure wise, I can see that there is serious boost in infrastructure development, though there are still lots of things to do’’, he said.
Shaibu urged policymakers and stakeholders to prioritize the development of small and medium-scale enterprises, acknowledging their crucial role in stimulating economic activity, generating employment, and promoting sustainable growth.
”We now need to consciously move to that next stage of building small scale and medium scale businesses.
”It is key and we must now turn Nigeria to a production economy, and that is why I am making governor Otti my number one governor for now.
”We need to start earning forex and the only way we can do that is for us to be a production economy.
“But before we rush into building or going into any forex, we need to produce for our local consumption’’, he said.
He said when the country was able to meet its local consumption it would be 50 per cent in dealing with inflation and capital flight.
He cautioned that continuing to adopt a flawed approach to construction or restoration, characterized by the use of hollow blocks, would inevitably culminate in calamitous outcomes, as exemplified by the challenges the CBN is currently grappling with.