23rd June, 2019
An expert, former President, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Mr Samuel Nzekwe, has said the private sector in Nigeria was yet to take its rightful place in the economy because, according to him, government still remained the biggest spender in the economy.
He said the private sector, as a more productive sector, should be the major driver of the economy, but that it was yet to take up the gauntlet, and this, he said, makes it difficult to really feel the contributions from the private sector in the country.
Nzekwe expressed this feeling to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Saturday.
He said if the sector had taken its place in the economy the way it ought to, the non-passage of the budget would not have been an issue to Nigerians.
In his words, “If the budget is not implemented on time, the shocks on economy may be high because a lot of businesses in the private sector depend on it.”
“I tell you, it shouldn’t be so because the private sector ought to be the driver of the economy,” he said.
Nzekwe said the private sectors in developed climes thrived more and thereby allowed governments to ensure conducive environments.
According to him, the government should rather focus mainly on issues like security, health among others.
He, however, noted that government needed to look at infrastructure challenges and close up the gaps to allow the private sector to thrive.
This, Nzekwe added, would allow Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country to grow, and that doing so would unleash potentials in the country while the economy would start to ‘move up’.
It will be recalled that five months after the 2019 budget estimate was presented by President Muhammadu Buhari, the National Assembly failed to pass it.