European Union (EU)
official Fillippo Amato has advised Nigerian government to devalue the Naira as
part of measures to tackle economic recession.
Amato, Counsellor, Head of
Trade and Economics Section of EU, made this known in an interview with the
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday
The EU official said that
recession could not be addressed with traditional development tools.
He said the recession was a
recent development which was due to a number of factors, including the fall in
oil prices and resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta.
“To come out of recession,
the country has to take brave decisions, regardless of how unpopular they may
be such as fully and effectively devaluing the Naira.
“Devaluing the Naira is a
measure, which will finally reassure investors and attract new capitals to the
country.
“At the same time, it will
further reduce imports, thereby removing artificial forex restrictions, and
removing any potential waste of scarce resources such as the fuel subsidy.
“Improving security (in the
Northeast and Niger-delta) and ease of doing business are also key factors on
which the government must urgently work to re-launch the economy,’’ he said.
Amato said that EU had been
at the forefront of aid for trade support activities in Nigeria and ECOWAS.
He said the most important
programme the EU was implementing in Nigeria with its partners – GIZ, DFID/Adam
Smith International and UNIDO – was the Nigeria competitiveness Support
Programme.
“The programme aims at
improving the quality of Nigeria products to comply with international
standards.
“The programme is providing
capacity building to several Ministries, Departments and Agencies such as
Ministry of Agriculture, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Consumer Protection
Council, Nigerian Customs Services and NADFAC.
“We support the trade
institutions in the formulation and implementation of a sound trade policy
(support to the Federal Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment, and
Nigerian Customs Service).
“This is to improve the
business environment, with pilot projects in Kano and Kaduna to improve the
procedures for obtaining land titles, and business licences,’’ he said.
He said Nigeria also needed
to take advantage of the devaluation of its currency by diversifying its
sources of foreign exchange revenue and this mainly through boosting its
non-oil exports.
Amato said that EU would
increase its support to the country under the Economic Partnership Agreement
(EPA) if ratified.
“EPA aims at boosting
industrialisation and sustainable development of West Africa, both through
improved (predictable, transparent and long-term) trade relations and through a
development cooperation component.
“In addition, on Sept. 14,
the EU has launched a European External Investment Plan which will further
support private sector investments in the African continent, including Nigeria.
“The plan will support
investments in the continent by providing targeted guarantees and ameliorating
the investment climate and the overall policy environment in partner countries.
“The Plan will be
implemented through the new European Fund for Sustainable Development, with EU
funds totalling 3.35 billion Euros until 2020.
“The EU Funds are expected
to mobilise up to 44 billion Euros additional investments,’’ the official said.
He, however, advised
Nigeria to take into consideration all the opportunities the EPA would offer to
Nigeria and communicate them to all interested stakeholders.
“The role of the government
is also to reassure all stakeholders that there is no reason to be worried in
the course of implementation of the EPA.
“The government will use
all instruments offered by the EPA to ensure it will achieve its objective to
promote industrialisation and development of Nigeria and West Africa.
“The EU will do its part to
ensure these objectives are achieved,” he said.
According to him, in a
globalised world no country or regional community can ignore the destiny of its
neighbours.
“The EU, in particular, due
to its historic ties and geographic proximity to West Africa, has a strong
interest in promoting and supporting West Africa’s development, well-being,
prosperity and stability.’’
Source:(NAN)
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