Yar’Adua in small enterprise move

[Bond James Bond]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/78e0eba2-2f0...0779fd2ac.html

Yar’Adua in small enterprise move
By William Wallis and Matthew Green in Lagos
Published: July 10 2007 22:18 | Last updated: July 10 2007 22:18

Umaru Yar’Adua, Nigeria’s president, says he has asked the five business moguls who benefited most under his predecessor’s rule to contribute some of their wealth to a fund aimed at stimulating small enterprises.

In doing so, he may be seeking to draw a line between his administration and that of the former head of state Olusegun Obasanjo, who many Nigerians believe is still pulling the strings from behind the scenes.

In his first in-depth interview since taking office on May 29 after elections marred by fraud, Mr Yar’Adua told the FT he was seeking to unite his opponents around a non-partisan agenda. This would be aimed at modernising Nigeria and bringing the benefits of economic growth, which has averaged 5 per cent or more during the oil boom, to the impoverished majority of its 140m population.

He said that he would maintain the broad thrust of liberal economic reforms initiated by his predecessor to stabilise an economy devastated by years of military misrule.

“We are on the right path,” he said at the Asa Rock presidential palace in the capital Abuja. “These reforms are necessary, and they will continue ... so that we have a private sector-driven economy.”

But he would put additional emphasis on due process, accountability and the rule of law.

This would mean bringing reforms that have – to some extent – improved the public management of funds at the federal level, down to the level of the states, where grand-scale corruption has inhibited improvement in primary healthcare and education.

It would also mean, he said, opening up to public scrutiny those areas still under state control, such as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, whose accounts have remained opaque.

“NNPC itself just becomes a national oil company that will compete with other upstream and downstream operators, so that it becomes efficient,” he said, announcing what could be a shift in the way the state oil company operates.

“Even its joint venture undertakings, instead of getting government (to foot the bills), let it go and capitalise and go to the capital market,” he added.

In a sign of his intention to bring change to poorer Nigerians, Mr Yar’Adua said he would seek to abolish the land use decree that stops the average farmer raising money from his land.

“He can only mortgage a property developed on the land, but not the land itself, and that really limits the capacity of millions of Nigerians,” Mr Yar’Adua said.

He had also requested that the central bank and finance ministry identify around “five” of the tycoons who profited most during his predecessor’s term in office.

Mr Obasanjo unabashedly promoted a blend of raw capitalism and economic nationalism using import bans and other forms of government largesse to promote select Nigerian businesses and industries.

In the process, a group of around five tycoons made fortunes worth hundreds of millions of dollars and, in some cases, far more.

The N50bn ($393m, €287m, £194m) micro-credit scheme Mr Yar’Adua had asked them to contribute to should be run with “interest rates of no more than 2 per cent”, he said.

Mr Yar’Adua added: “I told them they must have a social responsibility because of the booms they have enjoyed over the past four years.”

[Tbite]

Originally Posted by Matthias Offodile

GDP grows to 7.5% in March – CBN

FSS 2020 here we come.

[Matthias Offodile]

Btw, The FT article sounds interesting!

[Matthias Offodile]

FSS 2020 here we come

Unfortunately, this is just the growth rate FOR A MONTH and not an average growth rate for the past ten years!!!

Nigeria´s oil sector has negative growth but the agricultural sector is doing suprisingly fine! If only those crooks in the Niger Delta could disappear, this would make me a happy man!

Sometimes I ask myself if Nigeria would have been better off if oil hadn´t been discovered in the Niger Delta! Nigerian people are so agile, innovative and dynamic and take the destiny in their own hands without constantly blaming the world (or the ex-colonial masters) for everything that happens in the country! But......

[Tbite]

Originally Posted by Matthias Offodile

Unfortunately, this is just the growth rate FOR A MONTH and not an average growth rate for the past ten years!!!

Nigeria´s oil sector has negative growth but the agricultural sector is doing suprisingly fine! If only those crooks in the Niger Delta could disappear, this would make me a happy man!

Sometimes I ask myself if Nigeria would have been better off if oil hadn´t been discovered in the Niger Delta! Nigerian people are so agile, innovative and dynamic and take the destiny in their own hands without constantly blaming the world (or the ex-colonial masters) for everything that happens in the country! But......

well the reason why I think that it this could well be the Kickstart to FSS 2020, is due to the fact that the economy is gaining speed. Nigeria won't achieve a 12.5% growth this year, but if the economy continues growing at this rate, and the Niger Delta crisis is solved, then I see no reason why Nigeria won't hit 12% Next Year and maybe even surpass it.