Addressing a press conference in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on Monday, the founder of Open Forum, Mathew Kofi Okono (MKO), noted that President Tinubu’s 2012 recommendations remain the most articulate ideas on addressing the present economic situation bedeviling the country and wondered why he could not revert to his recommendations Therfore This civil society organisation, Open Forum, urged President Bola Tinubu to go back and implement the 2012 recommendations he proffered to former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration for managing the fuel subsidy policy.
His words: “In our effort to help the government proffer possible solutions to the hardship in the country occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy and the devaluation of the naira, we are pointing to the most articulate and possible solution to the management of the fuel subsidy policy by the Federal Government of Nigeria being the January 8, 2012, press statement by President Bola Tinubu to the then President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration
President Tinubu’s press statement was titled: Removal of Oil Subsidy: President Jonathan Breaks Social Contract with the People. Open Forum is of the firm belief that President Tinubu’s 2012 recommendation to former President Jonathan remains the most articulate idea on how to go about the management of the oil subsidy in Nigeria.”
Okono noted that corruption remains the bane of the petroleum sector and not subsidy payments, which, according to him, even developed countries still provide for their citizens in different sectors. He, therefore, urged the federal government to rise to its responsibility to tackle corruption headlong.
“It was, and it is to date, corruption that is the bane of the petroleum sector, NOT SUBSIDY PAYMENT, which even developed countries still provide for their citizens in different sectors. Regarding the free float of the naira policy by the FG, we recommend a managed float policy as our currency does not have what it takes to match other major currencies in a free float system,” he added.
Speaking on the state of Akwa Ibom, the Social Reform Advocate expressed worry over the state being listed in the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report as the second state in Nigeria that is heavily dependent on FAAC allocations, with 86% dependence.
He said it was even more troubling to see that the entire state’s 2023 IGR of N43 billion could not fund the combined 2024 budgets of the Governor’s and Deputy Governor’s offices, which stand at N41 billion and about N1.9 billion, respectively.
Okono said to forestall a possible economic crisis in the event of failure or a drastic fall in FAAC allocations and derivation payments to the states, Akwa Ibom needs to increase its revenue base.
He said to achieve that, the Open Forum would embark on a fact-finding and independent tour of the state of government investments in the state and ascertain their contributions to the IGR of the state, saying that the essence of the tour was to ramp up the capacity of those investments to add value to the economic development of the state and the country in general.
