The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ms. Catriona Liang, has advised the incoming government in the country to adopt the right fiscal measures that will ensure that the planned fuel subsidy removal proposed for the second quarter of this year does not hurt poor Nigerians
The UK envoy, while giving the charge during an interview when she featured in a Channels TV programme on Wednesday, said that the fiscal measures should be prioritized by the incoming administration in order to improve the efficiency of the yearly federal budget and the performance of the nation’s economy.
In addition to the fuel subsidy issue, Liang also listed two other critical areas that should form the immediate focus of the in-coming government, namely the multiple exchange rates of the national currency as well as increasing the tax revenues to reduce the budget deficit.
According to her, the above challenges and other related ones are largely responsible for the under-performance of the nation’s economy and the insecurity situation in the country.
The High Commissioner pointed out that it would remain difficult for the incoming administration to attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) inflow into the country if the current multiple foreign exchange (FX) rates for the Naira is continued.
Commenting on the 2023 elections scheduled to start this Saturday with the Presidential election, Liang noted that preparations for the elections had been commendable, particularly on the arrangements for voters to register for and collect their PVCs, and lauded the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for its efforts to ensure credible elections in the country.
She urged Nigerians to come out en masse to exercise their franchise during the elections and never allow themselves to be intimidated by any group in their efforts to elect leaders of their choice.
Liang maintained that the British Government did not have any preferred candidate among those vying for the position of the President of the country, but reiterated that the immediate task for whoever emerges as President would be boosting the performance of the economy and frontally tackling the security challenge.
