President Bola Tinubu has been advised on belt tightening economic measures capable of dislocating Nigeria’s economy.
The President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Samuel Agbeluyi , gave the advise on Friday.
Agbeluyi was speaking to newsmen on the sidelines of the 3rd Joint Council Retreat of CITN and the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria in Abuja.
Agbeluyi stated that, “We commend the government for starting on a good note by removing the fuel subsidy that has not helped anybody in the country. The removal of that wastage is a major step that this government has taken.
“We commend the president for setting up a committee to reform the tax system in the country. But we will like to advise the government to be a little slow and not drastic in some of its decisions, for instance, the impact of the removal of subsidy leading to the current price of petrol is enormous on the citizens.”
He said: “Tinubu started well and needs the support of everybody, and we have applauded the initiatives of the government. But at this point, can we manage what we have introduced, and slowly introduce other policies so that we would not dislocate the system?”
Agbeluyi added: “In order not to make the shock too drastic, we may need to slow down in the introduction of other policies. I give an example, the planned increase in electricity tariff, if we add that to what is on ground right now, it will cause some dislocation to the system that may be difficult to handle.
Agbeluyi while speaking on palliatives, opposed the distribution of cash to people, adding that “CITN has been talking about this palliatives not just under this government. One thing is that the government needs to coordinate its policies and activities.”