As Nigeria enters the concluding moments of the highly anticipated general elections, especially the just concluded gubernatorial polls, financial experts have set a significant economic agenda for the first and second-term governors.
DAILY POST reports that of the twenty-eight governorship seats contested in Saturday’s elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission has announced twenty-two winners.
In this case, Seyi Makinde of Oyo, AbdulRahman AbudlRazaq of Kwara, Abba Yusuf of Kano, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau, Dikko Umar Radda of Katsina, Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto of Sokoto, Hyacinth Alia of Benue, Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa, Umar Namadi of Jigawa, Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom, Bassey Otu, Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun, Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe, Mai Bala Buni of Yobe, Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi, Umar Mohammed Bago of Niger states, Similanayi Fubara of Rivers State, Uba Sani of Kaduna and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State.
INEC declared Kebbi and Adawawa inconclusive, while the winners from Enugu, Abia, and others are yet to be announced.
Away from the euphoria of celebrating the political victories by the governors-elect, the economic burden which befalls them should now be the central focus.
While the elections were taking place, the country’s economy has been battling acute woes.
Now that governors-elect have emerged, solutions to these problems should be their cardinal points in the next four years.
In this regard, State governments must wake up to the consciousness of the Nation’s economic challenges, such as raging inflation, unemployment rate, rising poverty rate, poor utilisation of scarce resources, corruption, insecurity, energy crisis, naira crisis, foreign exchange crisis, debt crisis.
It is only with a prudent concentration in proffering solutions to the problems that the country can breathe fresh air.
Experts advised that economic programmes aimed at uplifting Nigerians from the shackles of poverty should be paramount to the elected governors.
The collective poverty ratio of the sub-nationals makes up the Nation’s 133 million poor people, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.
Experts say upturning this figure through a state’s engineered effort is critical.
They stated that the state governments should do well to tackle all economic problems peculiar to their states.
In an interview with DAILY POST on Monday, a financial expert, the CEO of SD&D Capital Management Limited, Idakolo Gbolade, said the governors-elect must take the welfare of their citizens seriously if they must succeed.
Idakolo explained both the first term and second term governors should swing into action immediately to justify the confidence the electorates have imposed on them.
He urged that politicians should not politicise the economy if progress in real economic growth must be actualized.
He said the elected governors must raise the bar of economic prosperity in their various states for the good of the generality of the country.
“The governors-elect in the various states as announced, should set to work immediately, especially those going for their second term to justify voters’ confidence in their administration. The first term governors should also work and look inwards where the outgoing government in their state has stopped to improve on it.
“The new governors should, as a matter of urgency, look into the welfare of their citizens regarding the present cash crunch to alleviate their sufferings.
“They should also engage the traders and those still hoarding cash to release them for seamless state transactions. They should also bring ingenious means to ease transportation problems because of cash scarcity by providing free transportation for the masses, pending when the twin issues of fuel scarcity and cash crunch can be resolved.
Also, an Accounting and Financial Development Don at Lead City University, Ibadan, Prof Godwin Oyedokun disclosed that a solution to the rate of poverty in the respective states should be the main agenda of the governors-elect.
According to him, economic matters should not be subjected to political shenanigans.
He said the crop of elected governors should embark on transparent, accountable governance as much as possible to address mistrust.
“Most of the states across Nigeria have infrastructural challenges; this is the first economic agenda for the governors-elect.
“I will advise the governors to reduce the cost of governance wastage and ensure that they deliver the dividends of democracy. Each governor-elect should know that their emergence is just a privilege; they should use it to rebuild their image and embark on activities that would directly impact citizens.
“The various governments should be more transparent to their people; they must ensure that they do not politicise economic activities as in the past”.
Hope is on the horizon as the fate of over 200 million Nigerian citizens now rests squarely on their elected governors and the president-elect, Bola Tinubu.