Poverty, unemployment crippling Nigeria — FG

[PeoplesDaily]

By Abdulwahab Isa & Etuka Sunday

The Federal Government through the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has admitted that the issues of unemployment and poverty constitute a bottleneck to economic mileages recorded by the present administration. The prevalent incidence of poverty and unemployment, the Minister also admitted pose serious threat to stable and strong economy. She spoke yesterday in Abuja at a Ministerial press briefing that focused on the score card of performance of the Minsitry of Finance. Nevertheless, she expressed optimism that the government is using several prong measures to tackle the problem of poverty and unemployment in the country.

She put the total releases for the 2013 budget at N700 billion representing N400 billion being capital vote for the first quarter and N300 billion for the second quarter. Speaking on the impasse that has characterized 2013 Budget, she said it was prepared earlier than ever before and passed early by the National Assembly but some grey areas needed to be thrashed out by concerned arms for full implementation to take place. Okonjo-Iweala said government had prioritized some projects making it possible to reduce the total recurrent expenditure to 68 per cent in 2013.

According to her: "and let me start with something that we said during the midterm report.

"The first is on the macro-economy. I want to report that the economy is strong and stable.

"But of course, we are facing challenges of inequality and inclusion- meaning that even though the economy is strong, we have problems with jobs and unemployment.

"We have problems with wanting to eradicate poverty. We need to move faster in order to tackle these problems.

"So, we are not saying that everything is solved but we know that the stability provides a platform on which we can use to solve the other problems."

The Minister also noted steady rise in external reserves from $32.08 billion in May 2011 to $48.4 billion as at May 2013 was indicative of stable economy.

Other indices of economy growth as pointed by the Minister include, Excess Crude Account (ECA) which has risen from about $4 billion in May 2011 to around $9 billion at the end of 2012, but now about $6 billion in May 2013.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has lamented its treatment by the Federal Government, saying the government is, by its actions, cripples the agency's activities.

The agency, which has won local and international commendations for its audit of the oil and gas industry as well as other industries in the extractive sector, said that between 2011 and 2013, the government slashed its budget by 50 per cent.

This was disclosed by the chairman of the NEITI governing board, Ledum Mitee, while speaking to journalists after a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan, at the Presidential Villa.

"NEITI's budgetary provisions have continued to dwindle whilst its activities remain on steady expansion and the situation has worsened to the extent that it threatens the agency's continued performance of its core function.

"By the current funding profile it will be impossible for NEITI to even support some its statutory audits for the current year, if nothing is done to ameliorate the situation," he said.

The chairman said they were at the Villa, "to present to the President a report of what we have been doing so far, the fact that we won an international award at the Sydney global EITI conference held last Month; Nigeria was adjured the best.

"What we have tried to identify is that between 2011 and 2013, there has been some 50 per cent reduction in our budgetary allocation which we thought was threatening the smooth operation of our work.

"Our responsibility is to identify gaps. The key issue which good out of the meeting was that we have to close the gap between what NEITI is doing and what the economic team is doing. We all acknowledge that there has been some gap because NEITI should be seen as part of the larger economic management team.

"We are not just out to find faults, we are there to help government to even raise revenue and identify gaps so that they can be remedied and that should be seen within the larger frame work of the reforms we all pray for.

"Out of the 39 countries that are implementing EITI, Nigeria's mode of implementation has been rated the best," he added.

NEITI, whose reports have in the past indicted major agencies in the petroleum ministry supervised by petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, had lamented the non-implementation of its report by the presidency, a claim that has never been denied.

Mr. Mitee also said the situation of no funds to even support the committees and meetings of the board threatens the EITI's compliant status.

He urged the President to also address the issue of paltry allowances and welfare of its members.

"This will in no small measure help to incentivize members in carrying out this sensitive and important national and international assignment".

He said so far NEITI had recovered the sum of N314 billion ($2 billion) out of the N1.534 trillion ($9.8 billion) potential revenue loss to the federation account.

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