Agbakoba lists solutions to nation’s economic problem

A senior advocate of Nigeria, Olisa Agbakoba, and co-chair of National Intervention Movement (NIM), says Nigeria needed a “New Deal” to take her away from the current “crisis of the old order,” suggesting that this could be done through the convocation of a special joint sitting of the National Assembly in 2019.
Agbakoba said the speech to be presented at the joint session must dwell on political devolution (restructuring), a new anti-corruption framework, financial services sector, economic governance, infrastructure, legal/justice sector, social security, national industrial reform, agricultural reform, a new housing/mortgage policy and legal framework, healthcare, among others.
The chairman of the People Trust Party, one of the largest and newly registered parties, who spoke with journalists in Lagos on the State of the Nation, also noted that “diagnosis of the economic problem is, malignant metabolic economic syndrome, complicated by inflation, high interest rates, unemployment, weak infrastructure, oil price shock and no growth economy.”
The chairman of the 3rd Force Political Parties emphasised that for government to arrest the ugly trend, it must ‘reverse anti-austerity and tight money as G-20 nations all now agree; use all policy tools and embrace Fiscal stimulus; adopt Keynesian economic model of massive government spending on public works; reduce raging inflation at 17 percent in medium term; reduce MPR (monetary policy rate) to single digit – 10percent – Quantitative Easing; vigorously Implement budgets and reflate the economy; spend our way out of recession, among several other methods.
He expressed the fears that the 2019 general election may not be free and fair, alleging that there has been a calculated attempt to rig the election.
“We have seen a rapacious decision to rig the 2019 election. President Buhari isn’t President Jonathan. Jonathan lost the 2015 presidential election, accepted the outcome and walked away, but I am not sure Buhari will do such thing. We see a situation where President Buhari will not accept defeat. That is why we insist that the Army, the Police, INEC must conduct for us free and fair election,” he said.
He also condemned a situation where all the service chiefs have become so partisan that they attended the event where President Buhari presented his ‘Next Level’ policy document, noting that it is a dangerous sign for 2019 election.
… Read full interview this Sunday in BDSUNDAY