The Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, has criticised the Federal Government’s economic policies for causing hardship in the country.
Mohammed spoke at the World Bank’s Nigeria Development Update report launch in Abuja on Thursday, stating that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration’s policies are not producing the desired results.
Mohammed also stated that state governments’ revenues are insufficient to address the situation.
He said, “We should go back to the basics. Nigerians are not enjoying the regime at this time across board, not only the federal government, but also the state and local governments. Therefore, the onus rests on you, the finance and the managers of the economy.
“We need to come up with a budget program with economic policies that will reduce hardship. The money that we are sharing is not enough. The report spoke about employment, wages, and how many percent of Nigerians are even employed. Most of our people live in the informal sector; we should look at how we can make them self-employed.
“The purchasing power has dwindled; these policies are not working, and you know that.”
While releasing the new report, Alex Sienaert, senior economist of the World Bank in Nigeria, said that to achieve the necessary growth in the nation’s economy, the recently enacted macroeconomic stabilisation policies need to be backed up by creating productive jobs.
Dr. Ndiame Diop, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, also stated that, while the reforms may be difficult, they are critical to the country’s long-term viability.
He emphasised that resisting or undoing these measures will harm the country’s development.
