Economist urges FG to develop robust blueprint for higher crude production, diversification

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LAGOS – Dr Glenn Prince-Abbi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Espera Global Corporation, Abuja, on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to design robust strategies to boost local crude oil production.
Prince-Abbi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that such would ensure the diversification and stability of the nation’s economy.
He said the nation’s painful economic experiences made it imperative for the federal government to embark on investments in the areas it was diversifying into.
“Government must scan the Nigerian space to creatively explore the possibilities of unlocking economic production activities among the very poor that were now liabilities for the socio-economic system.
“If nothing fundamental is done to change the situation being foisted on Nigerians by the current crude oil price slump, it will worsen.
“The liability status of the poor will become more unbearable to the economic system,” he said.
According to Prince-Abbi, unless government addresses the economic issues radically, the economy will take further beating and social stability now already foundering under the weight of insurgency will worsen.”
Prince-Abbi, an international consultant, said hopes were not lost, stressing that Nigeria could make it if government confronted this reality with more resoluteness.
He also urged government to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities in global war for climate change to explore ways of developing projects that could earn Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) status.
Prince-Abbi said that there were huge foreign exchange earning opportunities from “Carbon Credits” which the nation could attract through projects with ascertainable levels of carbon appropriation.
He said that Nigeria should explore the CDM window of opportunity in unlocking available means of earning enhanced revenues.
On the global economic downturn, he said that Nigeria was not alone in contending with fiscal deficit problems.
“Fiscal deficit is now a global phenomenon; every country is looking at how to improve spending.
“However, as you look to improve spending, you look for ways to make strategic investments. It’s a balancing strategy.
“All strategic minded national governments are deeply involved in motley of economic recalibration strategies to address the challenges occasioned by fiscal deficit.
“For Nigeria, part of these strategies, just as it is in most other countries, including the U.S. and the European Union, should be to channel spending in ways which boost the economy by catalyzing production in as many sectors as possible,” he added.
Prince-Abbi, said that diversified investment remained a viable option which would help to stabilise the Nigerian economy against “the concomitant shocks which come with this terrifying freefall of crude oil prices”.
He said that in spite of the challenging outlook in terms of crude oil receipts and price recovery, government needed bold policy to deliver the nation from years of dependence on crude oil revenues.
The economist also said that aggressive research, perpetually designing and applying strategic measures to reduce dependence on the nation’s crude oil, made economic diversification the most important agenda on the ongoing economic transformation blueprint.
“The price slump of crude oil and devaluation of the Naira was part of the ugly dominant effect that our economy must grapple with until government embarked on radical measures to unlock massive production activities across Nigeria.
He said the measures would not only sustain Nigerians but make the nation highly competitive at the global market place. (NAN)