Nelson Utip
As the nation mules energy transition from fossil fuels, Civil Society Organisations CSOs in Nigeria have advised the government of the Oil Rich Akwa Ibom State to take practical steps to diversify its economy by investing more in agriculture and tourism.
The organizations including BudgIT, Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), and Policy Alert, gave the advice over the weekend during a policy dialogue on strengthening fiscal resilience in Akwa Ibom State, organized by BudgIT.
A Senior Officer at NRGI, Tengi George-Ikoli in her presentation during the event said that all Oil Producing States in the country should harness revenue from sundry sources and not totally depend on allocations from the federation account to mitigate the impact of oil exploration on them.
According to her, Akwa Ibom State has 86% dependence on FAAC and pondered on how the remaining 14% from internally generated revenue is sufficient to carter for the recurrent expenditure, like payment of salaries if there is a depletion in the money from oil.
She called on the government of Akwa Ibom State to explore the potentials in tourism and agriculture sectors as the state has the longest shoreline in Africa which should be harnessed for tourism.
Ikoli advocates for a technological system of revenue collection to avoid leakages in the process, she added that the Akwa Ibom State Internal Revenue Service (AKIRS) should be autonomous in order to check corruption and inefficiencies within the state’s investment companies.
“Akwa Ibom should diversify its economy, shifting its focus from oil and gas to other sectors such as agriculture and tourism. The state’s tourist destinations should be better packaged and promoted to attract global tourists.” She said.
The Research and Policy Analyst at BudgIT, Enebi Opaluwa, was hopeful that the Akwa Ibom State government will adhere to the pieces of advice at the policy dialogue in order to build the fiscal resilience of the state, he said that since the Akwa Ibom State government is currently adjusting its budget and fiscal structure, they should diversify to achieve it’s aims.
Opaluwa observed that some projects in Akwa Ibom are not bringing in the desired revenue, citing The Godswill Akpabio International Stadium as an example, he advised the government to put such facilities out for more income-generating services.
“Akwa Ibom should check the popular renewable energy sector that will help in diversifying its fossil fuel dependence. The state has the longest coastline, and there are things it can leverage on to achieve this objective, such as the hotel industry, Akwa culture, tourism, among others. These are potential sources of business that can be explored.” Opaluwa added.
