Presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria, Obiageli Ezekwesili has reacted to the recently released Global Competitiveness report, which ranks Nigeria 115th out of 140 profiled countries.
Ezekwesili, who is a former vice president of the World Bank for Africa, said on Saturday that Nigeria’s move from its previous position of 125 was a positive development. She however urged that a lot needed to be done in making Nigeria’s socio-economic environment more globally competitive.
“Moving 10 places on the Index is positive news for the country, but I must say that Nigeria has no business being in the lower rungs of the ladder as regards global competitiveness. With the right policies, resources at our disposal, and especially commitment from government, we can take a giant leap up the index and create a better life for majority of our citizens,” Ezekwesili said.
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“We will move higher on the index if the macroeconomic outlook, critical non-oil sectors and institutions are strengthened so as to bring about the desired competitive advantage the country inherently possesses.
“Our macroeconomic out-look is currently in a crisis with multiple exchange rate regimes, fixed interest rate
and cyclical inflation rate over the years – that has all had negative effects on the financial market and led to little
or no investor confidence,” she added.
As Senior Economic Advisor, Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative at Open Society Foundation, Ezekwesili advised nine reform-committed African heads of states on their economic development strategy, policies and implementation.
She is the frontline female candidate in the lead up to the 2019 presidential elections scheduled to take place in February.