CITN Advises Tinubu to Ease Up on Tough Economic Policies

The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) has advised President Bola Tinubu to proceed with caution in implementing drastic economic policies to prevent any potential disruption to Nigeria's economy.

CITN's President, Samuel Agbeluyi, shared this counsel with journalists during the 3rd Joint Council Retreat of CITN and the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria held in Abuja.

He said, “We commend the government for starting on a good note by removing the fuel subsidy that has not helped anybody in the country. The removal of that wastage is a major step that this government has taken.

“We also commend the President for setting up a committee to reform the tax system in the country. But we will like to advice the government to be a little slow and not drastic in some of its decisions, for instance, the impact of the removal of subsidy leading to the current price of petrol is enormous on the citizens.

“In order not to make the shock too drastic, we may need to slow down in the introduction of other policies. I give an example, the planned increase in electricity tariff, if we add that to what is on ground right now, it will cause some dislocation to the system that may be difficult to handle.”

According to him, “Tinubu started well and needs the support of everybody and we have applauded the initiatives of the government. But at this point, can we manage what we have introduced and slowly introduce other policies so that we won’t dislocate the system?”

Addressing the importance of palliatives, Agbeluyi emphasized the need for proper coordination, but expressed opposition to the distribution of cash to individuals.

He stated, "CITN has been talking about this palliatives not just under this government. One thing is that the government needs to coordinate its policies and activities. If you want to have a cashless economy, the essence is to bring people into a net whereby you can have information about them.