As more nations shut down and economies get into trouble, an economic expert, Olisah Uzoewulu says the adverse effect of the global shut down and the collapse in oil price should be seized by Nigeria to re-structure its reward system.
Uzoewulu who is a development economist told Signaturetv in an exclusive interview that the political leadership in Nigeria has always been afraid of reducing the remuneration of politicians, public office holders and top civil servants who constitute only about two per cent of the national workforce because of its political fallout.
He said that the present remuneration structure which was designed when the price of crude oil was over 100 dollars per barrel is not sustainable when the product which is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy now sells for lower than 30 dollars per barrel.
Uzoewulu said that the coronavirus pandemic has only hastened the challenge which the Nigerian economy is presently experiencing explaining that to have relied on a single product to run an economy as big and complex as Nigeria’s was a recipe for collapse which was sure to happen sooner or later.
He also called for the removal of oil subsidy, calling it a national scam which was not in the interest of Nigeria’s development.
