Many people are losing their jobs and many companies are collapsing in Nigeria because of poor policy implementation by different levels of government.
People are losing their jobs and companies are collapsing due to a number of factors like poor and ineffective implementation of policies and programmes, poor skills on the part of government officials, badly conceived policies and programmes, wrong location of projects, biased and personal interest of the implementing officials, non-release and late release of funds for projects and programmes.
All this has led to the abandonment of many of projects across the country and collapse of many companies leading unemployment and poverty among the people.
Many stakeholders and experts have called for a change so the country can move forward.
Speaking during a business-related programme, Adewale Smatt-Oyerinde, the Director-General of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), called for a more pragmatic approach in the implementation of economic policies to ensure job security for the people and survival of businesses in Nigeria.
He urged policymakers to review implementation of policies that could hinder economic growth and job creation in Nigeria
He highlighted the need for regulatory bodies to align their actions with the government’s broader economic recovery agenda pointing out that recent policy adjustments, such as the suspension of the 4% Free on Board (FOB) levy and the reduction of the 50% tariff, should be extended to other regulatory measures.
He noted that excessive levies and compliance costs imposed by government would ultimately impact consumers and the economy, urging it to consider long-term economic stability in the implementation of economic policies.
“While it is the law, expediency should come first. Is it appropriate to implement certain policies now when businesses are reducing capacity utilisation, stock levels are increasing, and jobs are being lost? The law is not made to kill us; it is made to facilitate business growth. If it is now constituting a hindrance to the private sector and, by extension, the economy, then we must review it.”
“And if that same law is now constituting an endurance to development of the private sector, and by extension, an endurance to development of the economy of this nation, I think we can review it. If the 4% FOB can be suspended, if I see a feeling that the 50% tariff can also be reduced, can also be suspended, I think there is no reason why the FRCM cannot also take a cue from this pattern that has been initiating for us to save the horse, for us to save the goose that is laying the golden egg,” he said
He urged government to prioritize developing policies that would create business opportunities as against stifling business growth in Nigeria.
“This myopic view of revenue generation will do more damage to the bigger picture that the President is focused on. Every additional financial burden on businesses translates to job losses, higher consumer prices, and reduced disposable income for Nigerians. We must shift our focus to policies that promote business survival and economic recovery,” he stated.
Also speaking on the issue, Akinwale Jaiyeola, the Managing Director of Jayet Nigeria Limited, said that the way budgets are formulated and implemented has, often more than not, led to job losses and collapse of companies in the country.
According to him. “Budgets in the country are properly formulated; political consideration often over economic needs of the people. A budget is supposed to be an economic plan of the country for a period for the country, but in Nigeria, powerful political interests hijack the process.
“As if that is not enough, the budgets are padded and all manner of projects are inserted and funded while projects to concern the mass of the people are not funded.
“The implementation of budgets in the country is not geared toward the development of the economy and creation of jobs and thriving of companies.”
He faulted the Federal Government for extending the 2024 National Budget to December 2025, adding that action will negatively impact the jobs and companies in the country.
However, the Social Growth and Viable Development (NEFGAD), a public procurement advocacy group, has accused the National Assembly of promoting fiscal indiscipline by repeatedly extending the implementation period of national budgets.
Akingunola Omoniyi, NEFGAD’s country head, in a statement, said the move to extend the 2024 Appropriation Act for a second time this year undermines Nigeria’s public finance framework.
“The National Assembly’s oversight responsibility on public finance is being badly compromised,”
“National budgets, by design and as enshrined in the Constitution, are time-bound instruments. Their nomenclature — ‘2024 Budget’, for instance — is not merely semantic.
“It reflects a constitutionally defined fiscal year, which ends on December 31 of the given appropriation.”
Earlier in the year, lawmakers extended the implementation of the 2024 budget until June 2025, but the national assembly is now considering a second extension.
Omoniyi, warned that any further adjustment would breach the constitution and weaken transparency, accountability, and fiscal discipline — principles the budget system is meant to uphold.
“A budget is a financial estimate prepared by the executive with the presumption that adequate needs assessments and due diligence have been conducted,” he added.
“If implementation fails, it is the National Assembly’s duty to demand accountability — not to extend timelines endlessly.”
He said the continued existence of the 2025 Appropriation Act makes any prolonged implementation of the 2024 budget irregular and misleading.
“It is both deceptive and unlawful to continue referring to it as the 2024 Appropriation Act beyond its legal expiration date of December 31, 2024,” he said.
But, Senior Partner at SPM Professionals, Dr Paul Alaje, said the extension of capital budget implementation to December 2025 means that the federal government may likely borrow to fund the capital projects
He said: “The critical question to ask is that if the extension of the budget is for projects that have been executed, or the ones yet to be executed.
“This is critical because we don’t have revenue to fund the extension of the 2024 budget cycle which ought to have been closed by now. Even the 2025 budget, we have borrowed more than we have ever done just to fund it so the most likely way out is more borrowing to fund the extension which is not good.
“It means we are running 2024 and 2025 budgets concurrently owing to the fact that by December 2025, the president is supposed to submit 2026 budget,” he said.
He advised the government to always exhaust budget cycles before presenting fresh ones.
“We have also said that if, for instance, 2024 budget wasn’t concluded, wait until the New Year before presenting 2025 budget, but instead, this scenario we have two budgets with no funding for implementation,” he said.
A professor of economics, Akpan Ekpo, in his comment, pointed out the importance of the capital components of the budget in driving growth in the economy, saying, “What this means is that those who made forecasts for the capital component of the budget didn’t use the appropriate model. In fact, to have two budgets running is an embarrassment, given the expertise that we have in the country. That could have been caused by delays and uncertainties in expected revenues. It will affect the growth of the economy, it will affect the employment situation, and it will affect development.
“In the future, we should avoid running two budgets at the same time. There should be a robust model for making forecasts for inclusion in the budget. That they are seeking extensions shows that they didn’t do their work well. It creates uncertainty, and even investors who are interested in contracts for capital projects will not take us seriously.”
Highlighting the likely impact on inflation, the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom, noted, “It has implications for inflation in the sense that with the extension of the budget, they will now pump more money into the system. So, you have more money chasing after a few items, which can be inflationary.