Former presidential candidate of the Young Progressive
Party, Kingsley Moghalu, has said that for Nigeria to survive and thrive, it
needs urgent restructuring back to true fiscal federalism.
Moghalu, also a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank
of Nigeria, stated this in an interview on Sunday.
He also backed the call for decentralisation of the police
system to tackle the raging insecurity in the country.
“I am a firm believer in restructuring Nigeria back to true
fiscal federalism, ideally along the lines of regions, but with the existing
states as well. Nigeria cannot survive and thrive without it. The police should
be decentralised, but not the army and other security services.”
Speaking on the Federal Government’s plan to remove fuel
subsidy next year and pay 40 million poor Nigerians N5,000 each, Moghalu said
that the issue of subsidy was a complex one.
According to him, subsidies for consumption are generally
not advisable.
He said, “Subsidies on production are better from an
economic standpoint. The Buhari government should have removed it years ago
when the impact of that action would have been far less difficult, but they
took a populist approach.
“They were not transparent, claiming it had been removed at
some points only for the subsidies to reappear. Subsidies take up trillions of
Naira that would be better spent on health and education, so they are wasteful
and contribute to the fiscal stress Nigerian governments have battled with for
many years now.
“Petrol Motor Spirit is generally used more by the rich than
by the poor, so the impact will be more on the rich if it is removed. But it
will affect the poor because fuel price increases have historically driven
inflation in Nigeria.
“The so-called plan to pay 40 million poor Nigerians five
thousand Naira a month seems to me not well thought through. How do you
identify the 40 million? Experience teaches us that this is likely to be
another drain pipe of corruption. I think far more work needs to be done to
prepare for the eventual and inevitable removal of subsidy.”
On the migration of best brains, including health workers to
foreign countries, the former presidential candidate said the nation needs a
comprehensive plan to keep skilled health professionals in the country.
“This should include huge and efficient investments in
equipment, conditions of service and so on. I have always maintained that
healthcare workers, teachers and policemen should be prioritised in our society
and public service,” he said.
While he said that the government should apply science and
technology in addressing so many economic challenges facing the country, he
lamented that both federal and state governments were not prioritising but only
paying lip service.
“The modern world is based on science, technology and
innovation. The federal and state governments are not prioritising it. They pay
only lip service. The federal budget for it is minuscule compared to what you
see in more advanced economies. But it should not only be government-driven.
The private sector and the education sector have a huge role to play. The key
thing is for the government to create an enabling environment for them to do
so,” he said.
Moghalu, however, noted that the President, Major General
Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), needs to show more political will in addressing the
current insecurity ravaging the nation.
“He needs more intellectual capacity. Our troops are
overstretched. We need to consider external help,” he said.
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