- Safiu Kehinde
The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has backed President Bola Tinubu’s reform policies which, according to her, have stabilised Nigeria’s economy.
Okonjo-Iweala held that stabilising the economy must be done before any improvement can be recorded in the sector.
The former Nigerian Minister of Finance made this known while addressing newsmen after her visit to the President in Abuja on Thursday.
Okonjo-Iweala held that the reform had been done in the right direction as it had stabilised the economy, a development she claimed Tinubu deserves credit for.
“We think that the President and his team has worked hard to stabilize the economy. You cannot really improve an economy unless it is stable.
“He has to be given the credit for the stability of the economy. The reforms have been in the right direction.” she said.
The WTO DG however identified economic growth as the next phase of the reform.
She called for the establishment of safety nets as part of the effort to cushion the effect of the reform on ordinary Nigerians.
“What is needed next is growth. We now need to grow the economy and we need to put in social safety net so that people who are feeling the pinch of the reforms can also have some support to be able to weather the hardship. That’s the next step.
“How do we build social safety net to help Nigerians cushion the hardship they are feeling and then how do we grow the economy so that we can create more jobs and put more money in people’s pockets? These are issues we discussed with Mr. President” Okonjo-Iweala added.