Doyin Okupe, a former presidential aide, says President Bola
Tinubu has shown “much determination and courage” as the leader of the country.
Okupe, who said the president had taken two “extraordinary”
steps since his assumption of office on May 29, advised him to take “bolder
steps”.
“President Bola Tinubu actually hit the ground sprinting;
showing much determination, zeal, commitment and courage,” Okupe, a chieftain
of the Labour Party (LP), said in an opinion article.
“He has taken two extraordinarily bold steps by abolishing
fuel subsidy and equalising foreign exchange. This without doubt is causing
very severe pain and hardship on the populace.
“However, in order to
ground these policies properly, and reduce the pain on the populace, the
president will still need to take more bolder steps.”
Offering suggestions on how to reform the country’s economy,
Okupe said Nigeria must quit the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC).
“Nigeria must quit OPEC. In about two decades from now, oil
reserves may become meaningless. The present allocation of less than 2 million
barrels per day for Nigeria with a population of over 200 million people and
its prevailing strangulating economic conditions, given volumes of export to
our main foreign exchange earner (90%) is inimical to our growth as a nation
and to the wellbeing of the citizens,” he said.
Outside OPEC, Okupe said Nigeria can reduce its selling
price of crude but also increase its exports to three million barrels and above
per day.
This, he noted, will increase accruable revenue from forex
by up to 200 percent or more, which will allow the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) to have more supply of foreign exchange to the banks.
“In the face of surplus liquidity in forex supply, Naira
will gain tremendous value over the Dollar,” he added.
“The present situation whereby the oil majors earn 60% of
our accruable revenue from sales of oil leaving Nigeria with only 40% is no
longer economically and financially prudent or reasonable.
“The NNPC can no
longer serve fully, nor can it meet the full expectations of its obligations to
the Nigerian people.
“I am inclined to recommend that the President & his
team should take a look and study the Atiku Abubakar model as it concerns the
NNPC as a commercial entity.”
On December 19, 2022, a federal high court in Abuja
sentenced Okupe to two years imprisonment for breaching the money laundering
act.
Ijeoma Ojukwu, the presiding judge, had ruled that Okupe was
at liberty to pay N500,000 fine on each of the counts — totalling N13 million.
Barely 24 hours after
the conviction, he stepped down from his position as the director-general of
the Labour Party (LP) presidential campaign council.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
Please, hold your peace..
ReplyDelete