By Olamilekan FAWAS
A former President, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) Dr. Samuel Nzekwe, has advised the Federal Government to ensure quick implementation of the 2018 Budget.
Nzekwe gave the advice on Thursday against the backdrop of Wednesday’s signing of the 2018 Appropriation Bill into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Nzekwe further urged the government to immediately begin with capital expenditure and release funds for meaningful developments.
“For next year, I am advising the Federal Government to make sure that between September, October, the budget should be in the National Assembly.
“So that we would now explain to the National Assembly that before the middle of January, that the budget should be ready.
“So that we would start running a normal cycle of budget. Not running budget from June, middle of the year.
“I don’t know what type of budget is that when you run budget from the middle of the year; are you going to run it six months?
It means is stampeding the budget or are you going to run it for one year?
“So which means we are going to run two budgets. Every year we run two budgets. You run the concluding one from January to June; then you run the other one from January to December. I don’t know what type of budget that is.’’
The accountant advised government to give more priority to education, health and security.
Nzekwe,who noted that the amount earmarked for education was too low, advised government to fund the sector adequately.
He also said it was important for the government to pay more attention to the health sector in order to stop capital flight from the country through medical tourism abroad.
On power, works and housing, he noted that it was important to have constant power supply for the economy to grow.
He added that the economy could not be diversified without regular power supply.
He called for more accountability in governance, adding that the citizens should be made to feel the impact of Nigeria’s exit from economic recession.
The accountant said the citizens should look forward to having access to food.
Nzekwe, who said the high exchange rate was also affecting the economy, explained that there was need for the government to diversify the economy, reduce importation and promote self-sufficiency in food production.
He said Nigeria could earn substantial foreign exchange in the drive towards food sufficiency.
The accountant pointed out that the intensity of inflation was being checked because of the relative calm in the Niger Delta and the high prices of oil.
According to him, any volatility in the prices of oil will return the nation to where it was before now; should the price of oil drop below 50 dollars per barrel.
He said: “What we are seeing now is a kind of artificial recovery from recession because we are still exposed to external volatility in terms of our major earnings which is crude oil.
“We must diversify the economy such that we will produce what we consume so that any volatility would not have any negative impact on the economy.’’
