Expert proposes improved power supply for productive economy 

A renowned economist, Prof. Akpan Ekpo has said that the Nigerian economy cannot grow without a constant power supply to enhance productivity and manufacturing to boost the economy.

Ekpo said this at a public lecture titled, “The ‘Collapse’ of the Naira” organised by the Faculty of Management Sciences, University of Uyo in Uyo on Monday.

He said that a constant power supply in the country is highly needed to drive productivity for an improved economy, as the cost of power generation was too high for the private sector to thrive.

The guest lecturer said that Naira has depreciated considerably due to the removal of fuel subsidies and the merger of the dual foreign exchange market to allow market forces to determine the value of the domestic currency.

Ekpo added that fuel subsidy removal has resulted in not only untold hardship for the majority of Nigerians but has sent an unnecessary shock to the foreign exchange market.

He opined that if the free fall of the naira is not abated, it might result in hyperinflation which may lead to a currency crisis with debilitating effects on the economy.

The former Vice Chancellor of the University of Uyo added that the naira has not collapsed for now because of some intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

“The structure of the Nigerian economy does not favour the opening up of the foreign exchange market for exchange rate determination through market forces.

“In the Nigerian context, the foreign exchange market is not competitive.  

“In the long run, the economy has to become productive, producing non-oil goods and services for export and earn foreign exchange for the economy.

“For now, the economy must return to a managed float exchange regime and direct policies at attracting investment, foreign and domestic.

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“For this to occur, the security situation must be adequately addressed,” Ekpo said.

The Professor of Economics and Public Policy said that the Nigerian economy is at its lowest as all macroeconomic indicators have been moving in the wrong direction since 2015.

He noted that rates of inflation are double-digit as well as rising unemployment and underemployment in the country.

Ekpo appealed to the present administration to be bold enough to reverse some of the government policies that have resulted in untold hardship for the citizens.  

Earlier in his remarks, the Dean of the Faculty of Management Sciences, Prof. Uduak Ubom, said that while the nominal value of the naira remains the same, the purchasing power keeps on declining daily.

Ubom, however, said that the rate, rapidity, frequency and persistency as well as the influences of the decline in the currency values on the performance of the economy differs from one country to another.

He said the faculty of management sciences has taken as a dedicated function to organise public lectures to examine, inform and educate members of the public on emerging issues from time to time.

“It is on this note that the Faculty of Management Sciences has assembled these noble men with sound and established wealth of knowledge and adequate levels of exposure to examine and educate us on this threatening issue, the ‘Collapse’ of the Naira.

In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Nyaudoh Ndaeyo, commended the faculty of management sciences for the public lecture, stressing that it was apt as it dealt with contemporary issues.

Ndaeyo urged the students of the institution to remain studious and calm in their academic endeavours, even in the face of economic hardship, adding that the government was doing everything possible to revive the economy.