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‘Nigeria’s Economy Will Improve’
By John Iwori
An industrialist and a maritime expert, has expressed hope that the Nigeria’s economy will improve.
Ologbese, who is the Managing Director and CEO of Ogbese International Limited spoke to THISDAY at the weekend against that the ongoing debate on the state of the Nigeria economy.
He maintained that in spite of the present travails of Nigerians, all hope is not lost if the Federal Government continue to put the right policies in place and ensure their strict implementation.
He blamed the current situation on some party leaders who empty the treasury thereby making President Muhammadu Buhari to rely on meager resource at his disposal to govern the country.
He argued that the massive recovery of looted funds embarked upon by the Buhari’s administration would not only revamp the economy but also make the citizenry smile by the time it is injected into the economy.
Ologbese however blamed the ruling All Progressives Party (APC) for not putting its house in order thereby allowing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to hijack the machinery of the government.
He expressed regret over the dwindling popularity of Buhari’s government, pointing out that he even shed tears because the confidence people reposed in him is gradually fading away.
According to him, he personally worked hard to ensure that Buhari emerged victorious at the 2015 presidential polls. Some of the gladiators who worked hard for Buhari’s victory include Alhaji Ahmed Jamo, a retired Comptroller of Customs, and Alhaji Haruna, the Seriki Sasa of Oojo Ibadan who wept after the 2011 election which Dr. Goodluck Jonathan won.
Ologbese also said one of the mistakes of APC was that its leadership went to sleep after the victory of Buhari at the poll, pointing out that PDP managed to hijack the control of governance from it.
“This is one of the reasons why the popularity of the APC as party is going down daily. I am sure, if the APC leadership had united and settle down immediately after the poll, the step they took on maritime industry would have been avoided because it is a sensitive sector where the middle and the lower earners operates, whatever affects the sector affects 70 per cent of Nigerians.
He commended Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), especially the Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A, Ikeja, Lagos for what he called its “deliberate and concerted war on anti-smuggling” in recent times.
He particularly praised the Customs Area Controller (CAC), FOU, Zone A, Ikeja, Lagos, Comptroller Umar Mohammed Dahiru for his latest strategies aimed at enhancing and strengthening surveillance on the various methods adopted by smugglers in their desperate attempt to circumvent the federal government’s policy on trade.
Ologbese who is regarded as a veteran in the clearing of goods business, stated that the latest innovative approach became necessary in view of the fact that there is a compelling need to design appropriate templates to fight smuggling in view of its devastating effect on the nation’s economy.
He enjoined all stakeholders to give Dahiru and his team maximum support so that he can deliver on the mandate given to him by the Comptroller General of Customs, Colonel Ibrahim Ali (retired).
THISDAY had reported that Dahiru and his men made 268 different seizures recently just as they arrested no fewer than 34 suspects.
According to the command, “the seizures has a duty paid value (DPV) of N360 million. If you visit the Government Warehouse where we deposit these seizures, you will be flabbergasted at the volume of our seizures. These claims can be empirically verified.”
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