President Muhammadu Buhari has been advised to focus on reforms in human capital sectors in order to achieve economic growth and development.
This advice was part of the report published by Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), which focused on the economic policies of the present administration since it flagged off in 2015.
According to the report, titled, ‘A review of the Nigerian economy in the last five years (2015-2019)’, the quality of the labour force influences the productivity of both private and public sectors.
The report pointed out that Nigeria would develop if it leverages on new digital technologies in formulating programme strategies as well as during implementation.
The report also opined that there is a need to address “regulatory and structural issues such as bureaucratic bottlenecks, corruption, and lack of enforcement of laws/contract.”
It called for legislative reforms as well as a more business-friendly attitude for both local and foreign investments to thrive.
It also said the CBN’s quasi-fiscal role should be reduced while also improving information on credit facilities such as the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme. This it said would ensure fiscal transparency and correct the attitudes of beneficiaries of credit facilities who see credits as grants.
The report lauded the Buhari-administration for signing the Finance Act 2019, that reduces the Companies Income Tax (CIT) and Value Added Tax (VAT) for small businesses (with a gross turnover of ₦25 million annually) and medium-sized businesses (with a gross turnover of between ₦25 million to ₦100 million annually) from 30 percent to 20 percent.
