Tinubu’s reforms pivotal to macroeconomic stability, say shareholders

Shareholders have commended President Bola Tinubu for his courage and vision to implement audacious reforms that have helped to stabilise the economy and restore investors’ confidence on the long-term prospects of the Nigerian economy.

Ahead of the second year anniversary this week, shareholders said reforms undertaken by the Tinubu government have directly and indirectly made the investment environment better.

Shareholders, under the aegis of Association for the Advancement of Rights of Nigerian Shareholders (AARNS), a foremost shareholders’ group, said while the reforms necessarily came with some negative consequences on the citizens and companies such as the increase in prices of goods and services and foreign exchange (forex) losses by companies, the reforms have helped to reset the economy’s fundamentals and position the country for sustainable growth.

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President, Association for the Advancement of Rights of Nigerian Shareholders (AARNS), Dr Faruk Umar, said Tinubu has demonstrated commendable awareness about the challenges bedeviling the Nigerian economy and the ways to resolve them.

He outlined that the stability in the forex market, the almost attainment of a single-window forex market, return of foreign investors and significant increase in foreign participation at the Nigerian stock market and generally positive corporate performance were indications of the success of the economic reforms.

He pointed out that the sustained positive performance of the Nigerian stock market since the advent of this government underscored investors’ confidence, noting that the stock market is regarded as a measure of economic direction.

Umar, who sits on the boards of many companies, said the banking recapitalisation has not only helped to strengthen banks, which have some of the largest shareholders’ base, but it has also deepened the stock market.

According to him, the success of banking recapitalisation programmes so far and the quantum of capital raisings by companies and governments are indicative of a positive long-term view of the economy.

“From whatever angle one may look at it, one will agree that President Tinubu has done fairly well. Look at the return at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), look at corporate performances across sectors, look at our forex market now, look at the Gross Domestic Products (GDP), look at Nigeria’s sovereign issuances locally and internationally, look at our ratings reports now and look at foreign inflows; all these are fundamental indicators and they are looking up. President Tinubu deserves commendation and encouragement, and we will support him to drive the reforms forward for the betterment of the citizenry,” Umar said.

He said the recent outlook suggests that inflation simmering down, expressing optimism that ongoing initiatives in the agricultural sector and improvement in security should further drive down prices of commodities.

He commended the President for particularly introducing the “naira-for-crude, naira-for-products” policy and “Nigeria First”, which he described as thoughtful policies that would ensure the stability of the economy, especially in the light of unpredictable changes in the global environment.

He said the recent enactment of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2025 would help to further deepen the Nigerian capital market by diversifying tradable assets and protecting investors through enhanced regulatory framework.

He said the government should find a policy balance to encourage listing of companies on the Nigerian market as an indirect way of allowing Nigerians to benefit from the nation’s economic resources.

According to him, there should some elements in policies such as “Nigeria First” that give priority to publicly quoted companies in terms of access to government’s concessionary loans, taxes and patronage among others.

He called on the government to expedite actions on the enactment of the new tax laws, noting that a streamlined tax regime would relieve companies of duplicity and multiplicity that currently characterize tax administration.

Umar said with the momentum that has been seen in the past two years, the next two years should see continuous improvement in the economy, pointing out that it is this positive outlook that has continued to drive investors’ expectation at the stock market.

“As shareholders, we are happy with the performance of the government so far. If you look at it from the perspective of a shareholder, you cannot but commend the government. But then, there were pains of the reforms. We urge President Tinubu to do more to ensure the citizenry feel more gains of the reforms,” Umar said.

He called on the government to immediately commence the process of the listing of the power companies at the stock market, as contained in the sales purchase agreements, noting that public quotation may help in resolving some of the intractable problems of the power sector.

He also called for the listing of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and other Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs) as a way to enhance the operations of these companies and create more jobs and wealth for the citizens.

He however underscored the need to increase the tempo of the fight against banditry and terrorism noting that while the current government has significantly done more in the area of security, there must be further buildup of human and technological resources.

According to him, government should recruit more into the military and others to improve the coverage of the security services across Nigeria.

“We need to say that though there has been a lot of progress in fighting the bandits and insurgents due to the combined efforts of the National Security Adviser (NSA), the Army, the Police and Department of Securities Services (DSS) amongst others, the government should recruit more people into the Army in order to eliminate the bandits once and for all. The recent announcement by the President to take over all the forests harbouring bandits would go a long way in restoring confidence to the people in North West, North East and North Central,” Umar said.

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