Following the increase in the divestment of multinationals to neighbouring countries, the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) has urged the Federal Government to create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
The institute charges that the government should show some measures of support to the private sector by removing bottlenecks that may hinder their operations.
President of ICSAN, Funmi Ekundayo, said this at a media parley in Lagos, stressing a gestation period for the government to give better socio-economic satisfaction to the citizens.
With the hardship in the country, Ekundayo canvassed for more intervention by the Federal Government to cushion inflation’s impact on the citizens.
According to her, even as the government is aware of challenges in the economy, there is the need to hold them accountable for areas they are not meeting up.
“Government needs to put the right sticks in the right fire. There is hope if the government is moving in the right direction. Government should lead by example if it urges citizens to tighten their belts.
If most Nigerians are doing well in tolerating socio-economic headwinds, then it is not appropriate to see the level of economic wastage; the government should be cautious and not be seen as not acting on what they preach. If the private sector is pushed to the wall, they would be also pushed to take actions like downsizing,” she said.
While optimistic that the economy would soon bounce back, the ICSAN chief urged the government to channel the amount generated from fuel subsidies into infrastructural development for the citizens to benefit in the shortest possible time.
According to her, the government needs to ensure its turnaround of the narrative to make Nigerians, mostly youths, leave the country in droves.
On the review of the National Minimum Wage next year, she recommended that there should be adequate and appropriate engagement with all the relevant stakeholders, including the labour unions, as well as the pensioners’ unions to come up with a proposition that would be acceptable and fair to all.
She said the early release of the 2024 Appropriation Bill by President Bola Tinubu, signifies a right measure in the right direction.
Concerning the effective implementation of the budget, she tasked the National Assembly to ensure adequate oversight and effective monitoring of all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) that generate revenues to ensure that they are put on their toes to meet their respective revenue targets.
She said this could be conveniently achieved through the oversight functions of the standing committees of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
She recommended the need to overhaul the public sector, stating that lack of coordinated systematic planning and poor implementation of policy guidelines with its concomitant poor service delivery has continued to undermine the operations and effectiveness of the public sector.
According to her, there is a need for a comprehensive reappraisal of the sector to overhaul its operational efficiency and build pragmatic checks and balances to address corruption as well as inefficiency.
Ekundayo urged that the government must also ensure prompt and effective implementation of Executive Orders.
“Factors militating against successful implementation of governmental policies which include inaccurate statistics, knowledge deficiencies, corruption, and lack of effective control must be looked into and addressed appropriately,” she said.
