The World Bank Vice President and Chief Economist, Mr. Indermit Gill, has said that the Nigerian Government should sustain its reforms in spite of the hardship being experienced by Nigerians.

Speaking at the ongoing 30th Nigerian Economic Summit, organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group and the Ministry of Budget and National Planning on Monday in Abuja, Gill noted that the reforms are crucial for ensuring sustainable growth and development.

He commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the unification of the exchange rates and l called on the Nigerian government to provide cost-effective safety nets to protect the most vulnerable people from the hash impact of the reforms.

According to Gill, if the reforms are sustained, the Nigerian economy will return to the path of sustainable growth and transform the Nigerian economy and that of the entire Sub-Sahara Africa.

“I don’t know if you agree with me or you don’t agree with me. If he does that it will transform the economy of Sub-Sahara Africa. It is very difficult to do these things, but the rewards are massive. This is the lesson from the last 40 years as well as countries such as Norway, Poland and Korea.

“I am going to say something unpopular perhaps, Nigeria’s reforms from 2003 to 2007 were exactly what you needed but they were not sustained. Today’s fiscal and monetary reforms are hurting everyone, especially ordinary Nigerians who are struggling with high prices of food and transport.

“The government must do everything in its power to protect the most vulnerable citizens against hardships because their lives and the lives 110 million children depend on it.

“You must stay the course of the reforms because Nigeria’s future and the future of these 110 million children depend on it. During the coming years, Nigeria’s policymakers have three key options. The first is to prioritise non-oil exports.

“The exchange rate that Nigeria now has is the most effective in 20 years.

It is a great opportunity. You must build foreign reserves as a buffer against oil volatility. Again, I think Governor Cardoso is doing many of these things and I think he should be encouraged.

“Second, every vulnerable household needs government support to be able to survive the current difficulties. Install cost-effective safety nets to protect the most vulnerable people. Financing it from some of the savings from fuel subsidies and the exchange rate savings.

“Nigerians’ need for jobs is immense. In the next ten years, more than 12 million Nigerians would enter the workforce. You need to generate jobs for them. You need to attract investments, especially in the non-oil sector,” the report by Vanguard newspaper on Tuesday quote Mr. Gill as saying.

GIK/APA

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