‘Instability, Poor Policies, Hindering Nigeria’s Potential’

Former Statistician General of the Federation, Dr Yemi Kale has said, Nigeria’s economic potential is being hindered by political instability, poor planning, erroneous policies as well as external contagion.

Speaking at webinar on ‘Maximising your income: the power of diversification,’ organised by Ecobank Nigeria, Dr kale said, economy has potentials for growth, based on its huge youth population, large market, abundant natural and human resources and significant developments in the tourism, telecommunications, manufacturing, and technology industries.

Kale, who was the keynote speaker, in his presentation titled: State of the Nigerian Macroeconomy: Implications for Consumers and Workers, regretted that, such potentials are being hindered by macroeconomic dysfunctions which includes; external contagion, political instability, improper planning and poor plan implementation and outright wrong decisions, policies, and strategies.

“Our GDP growth has been steady, slow, and fragile, high inflation risks, rising public debt indicative of shrinking fiscal space and declining reserves and slowdown in capital inflow. Households and workers must therefore explore multiple sources of income, invest to hedge inflation, buy food items in bulk to evade immediate upward price adjustment and avoid loan accumulation,” he stated.

The former statistician General of the nation noted that, “Nigeria has potential for strong economic growth. It is the biggest economy in Africa and largest African market. Nigeria has abundant human resources as Africa’s most populous nation with growing youthful population and low-cost labour.

“It is the sixth largest gas deposit in the world, eight highest producer of petroleum in the world and oil reserves are estimated to be 36 billion barrels. We are blessed with 34 solid minerals, over 44 exportable commodities and significant growth potentials in the tourism, telecommunications, manufacturing, and technology industries.”

Kale identified Ecobank as one of the financial institutions that parades diversified products and services, noting the bank’s decision to organise the webinar was quite laudable because of the attendant benefits.

Head, Consumer Products at Ecobank Nigeria, Daberechi Effiong, speaking at the event, highlighted the benefits of saving with the bank and how to diversify income to maximise returns. She advised customers to spread their portfolios for multiple sources of income and also imbibe the habit of financial planning.

According to her, “Ecobank has bouquet of high yielding products with attractive interest rates which customers can invest in. They can take advantage of our savings and current accounts, local and foreign accounts, super savers and so many others. We also have mortgage financing, either re-financing or outright purchase. They can access our services through our digital channels and Xpress points, our agency banking outlets, which is available all over the country. We also offer financial advice and grant loans with low interest rates to customers.”

Managing director, EDC Fund Management Limited, Oluyemisi Ogunmola, stated the need for participants to invest in Money Market, Mutual Fund as part of income diversification. “You should have goals for diversification, either short, medium, or long term. We are also available for financial advice on where and how to invest. It is also important to know that you can start small with the fund you have,” she stated.

In her welcome address, Head, Consumer Banking, Ecobank Nigeria, Mrs. Korede Demola-Adeniyi, said the webinar focuses on practical financial planning insights on maximising income and how customers and members of the public can key in as they go through their financial lifecycle.

She added that the webinar is a further proof of the bank’s commitment to the financial well-being of its customers, and so, urged the bank’s customers as well as non-customers to make Ecobank their bank of choice.