Economist applauds Tinubu on sectors bailout, harps on local refining

Dr. Chris Kalu, an economist, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for rolling out palliatives for some sectors of the economy.

Kalu, a lecturer at the Department of Economics at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, said this on Tuesday while reacting to the national broadcast by the president.

He said the broadcast, however, did not address the challenges of the exchange rate and pump price of petroleum products.

He said the proposed bailouts for agriculture and small and medium-scale businesses would help trigger the economy but pointed out that they did not come with a timeline.

Kalu said the economic situation in Nigeria was an emergency that demanded some urgency, which would translate to increased income for the masses and improving aggregate demand.

According to him, social intervention has proven to be a good means of alleviating poverty and reviving the economy in advanced countries and places where corruption is not a problem, like Nigeria.

“But that is not the same in Nigeria; historically, social intervention has not worked in Nigeria. But the proposal to give palliatives to some sectors of the economy is welcome, but I do not see the sense of urgency.

”The President has to be clear on when he intends to give these palliatives because of the urgency of the time, the welfare of the people is being eroded steadily.

“In economics we deal with time, when are we expecting the implementation of these measures, what will happen to the masses before this time ? Saying we will see changes by this time is verbose,” he said.

Kalu said the president should implement policies that would promote production, which would in turn insulate Nigeria from international market shocks.

He said he should also address the fundamentals, which included power and local refining of petroleum, and provide incentives for investment through a lower interest rate.

Kalu said inflation was spiralling and should be checked with the correct monetary policy to increase the purchasing power of the masses.