Former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke, has called on the Federal Government to reduce soaring energy prices as a means to boost economic productivity in Nigeria.
Speaking as a guest on the socio-political program ‘Inside Sources with Laolu Akande’, aired on Channels Television on Friday, Duke criticized the current administration’s decision to remove subsidies on petrol and electricity simultaneously, describing it as a “fundamental error.”
“What we are doing to our people is just not sustainable. We’ve got to revisit all those policies and put our people first. And this is not [about] subsidy, this is about enhancing the productivity of our people,” Duke stated.
He argued that lowering energy costs would increase productivity, ultimately driving economic growth.
Duke identified four key factors contributing to inflation in Nigeria: high energy costs, over-inflated contracts, ill-distribution of wealth, and high interest rates. He emphasized the need for the government to prioritize the economy’s functionality for the people, noting, “At the end of the day, people don’t care about how they are governed as much as they care about bread and butter.”
Highlighting the importance of productivity to national stability, Duke urged the current administration to power industrialization efforts to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imports.
He pointed out that over 60% of the pressure on Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings stems from oil imports, and if the country could domesticate these, it would significantly improve the exchange rate.
“We need to run a productive, manufacturing, agrarian economy. We are not doing that. We literally import everything at the expense of our people,” Duke warned, stressing the need for a shift from Nigeria’s current import-dependent economy.
Duke also expressed concern over the exit of several multinational companies from Nigeria, attributing their departure to the crippling effects of skyrocketing energy prices and unfavorable exchange rates.
“A lot of companies are leaving Nigeria today because of the cost of production and the exchange rate,” he said, advocating for energy prices to be domesticated to support local refineries and industries.
Recent months have seen the exit of several international manufacturing companies, including Kimberly-Clark, the makers of Huggies and Kotex, as well as Procter & Gamble (P&G), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Unilever, and Sanofi-Aventi Nigeria. These companies have cited high energy costs and currency depreciation as primary reasons for their departure.
As Nigeria grapples with the economic fallout from the government’s twin policies of petrol subsidy removal and the unification of forex windows, Duke’s remarks underscore the urgent need for policy reassessment to prevent further economic decline and the exodus of critical industries.