THROWING his weight behind the proposed removal of fuel subsidy, the chairman, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc and a member of the National Economic Advisory Team, Mr. Atedo Peterside, has tasked Nigerians to make financial sacrifices for the economic transformation of the country by accepting the removal of fuel subsidy to enable the Federal Government embark on developmental projects.He explained that Nigerians want to have infrastructural improvement but refused to pay for it, adding that the Federal Government has failed to develop the economy because it consumes all its revenue on recurrent expenditures.Peterside, who spoke on the topic: 'Towards an economic transformation agenda' at the first Trinity Nigeria lecture series over the weekend in Lagossaid: 'Nigerians want to have an improvement and nobody want to pay for it. We consume all we are earning and expect to transform'.Peterside in proffering solution to Nigeria's economic under-development, stated that the country has never been blessed with political leadership that has the right knowledge and political will. He also identified lack of the right people to drive the change and lack of right institutions to bring about the change as factors militating against the country's development.According to him, Nigerians must be prepared to make sacrifices as it is done in other developed nations by paying for the provision of facilities and amenities instead of thinking that those things will just come at no cost to the citizens.Insisting on the importance of the sacrifices to the economic transformation of the country, he said: 'Even if we have the political will, good leadership and the right institutions, we will still not get there as long as we lack the people who believe that there is no free launch, that they can pay for the provision of those amenities', he declared.He argues that there is nothing wrong with the presidential system of government as presently practised in Nigeria except that 'thieves' are the ones practising it in Nigeria.He stated that in other to have a surplus for the developmental needs of the country, the leadership should shore up the revenue drive by blocking theft such as oil bunkering and leakages and cut down the inflated figures in the budget to a reasonable amount.He maintained that if Nigeria with poor leadership, weak institutions and un-cooperating populace could grow the economy to 7.1 per cent within a year, the country would be the fastest growing economy in the world if the various critical factors are put in place.The co-ordinator of the event, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo implored Nigerians to brace up to the challenge by engaging bad leadership and be ready to make huge sacrifices for the good of the country such as it is happening in Libya. He stated that the event will be a quarterly affair, adding that the next one will take place in January 2012.
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