Adaobi Rhema Oguejiofor
The Chief Executive Officer of the Center for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf, has asked for the immediate removal of fuel subsidy regime and the plugging of all identified revenue leakages in the oil and gas sector.
Yusuf, in a detailed report conveying information on an economic agenda for the incoming administration, said that one of the key considerations to balance Nigeria’s macroeconomic system is to undertake extensive reforms in the oil and gas sector, the regulatory environment, and to pursue financial consolidation.
He stated that Nigeria’s economy was currently in a stumbling and fragile state and in critical need of a new direction, adding that the political transition offered a great opportunity to plot out a new course.
The CPPE boss, while speaking on the fiscal space, said that the president-elect should reform the nation’s tax regime to ensure efficiency in tax administration, reduce tax evasion and tax avoidance, and completely remove multiple taxation. He urged the new administration to also eradicate the issue of fuel subsidy so as to save an estimated N7 trillion annually.
According to him, the government should also unlock more income from revenue-generating agencies through upgraded efficiency of their operations and to also initiate budget reforms to ensure fiscal discipline, curb budget padding, duplication of projects, while reviewing the service-wide votes to ensure there is transparency as much as possible.