- Says Tinubu Lacks Competent Technocrats
BY ROSEMARY NWAEBUNI
THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman in Delta State, Barr. Kingsley Esiso has called on President Bola Tinubu to rejig his cabinet by bringing competent technocrats with positive ideas on ways to reposition the country’s economy.
Esiso, who made the call in an interview with The Pointer, noted that the persons the President appointed into various positions, currently, are bereft of ideas and not offering the necessary advice that will help in repositioning the economy and salvage the situation from the current quagmire the country was going through.
While noting that governments at all levels were overwhelmed with the country’s current economic problems,, he opined that bringing in persons knowledgeable enough with the problems and the requisite solutions will go a long way to save the country from total collapse. “The President needs to rejig his government by bringing in people with a positive mind, fresh ideas to assist him in proffering solutions that will bring positive change to salvage the economic situations in the country”, he stressed.
Speaking on why policies put in place to check dollar rate against the naira were not yielding the needed results, Esiso urged Nigerians to be realistic in their thinking, saying that the policies were failing because the country operates dollarize economy.
He explained that because the country imports almost everything and exports nothing, these put pressure and high demand on the little dollar in circulation. “And because of the law of demand and supply, the rate of the little dollar in circulation will be high against the naira because we do not print dollar in Nigeria”, he added.
Esiso insisted that in as much as the country continued to import virtually everything and export almost nothing to earn dollars, dollar rate will continue to be high. “This is because, the industrialists, business men, traders will continue to look for dollars to remain in business”, he stressed. He urged Nigerians to reduce their taste for foreign goods and the idea of importing almost everything they use, especially things they do not need, saying that the idea of government borrowing to shore up the amount of dollar in circulation, will only be temporary measures, which will never solve the problems.
On food insecurity, the PDP Chairman called on the Federal government to address the problem of insecurity in the country and encourage citizens to go into mechanised farming. He pointed out that the country was surviving only on efforts of peasant agricultural farmers, who are seriously faced with the challenge of insecurity.
“Some are being killed in their farms; some have their farms destroyed by the herders, while some have to pay ransom before they are allowed to go into their farms”. Once security challenge is solved and citizens are encouraged to go into mechanised farming, food shortage problem will be solved. Almost everyone is currently starving”, he stressed.
