NES-EDO Congratulates Governor Elect, Sen. Monday Okpebholo

By Simeon OSAJIE

The Chairman of Edo State chapter of Nigeria Economic Society (NES), has congratulated Senator Monday Okpebholo governor-elect of Edo State, on his overwhelmed victory at the polls.

In a congratulatory message signed by Dr. Francis Ilenloa Igberaese, Chairman of NES-EDO and made available to newsmen in Benin City, said it is very clear at this time that God, in His infinite mercy for the poor, has decided to raise someone among the poor to attend to the “Economics of the Poor”, starting from agriculture and its value chain to full prosperity of the people, which have not been in the agenda of the government for a long time now.

According to Dr. Igberaese, “It is high time we made the sound development policies that are pro-poor and anti-poverty, instead of pro-poverty and anti-poor policies the governments have angaged in overtime. I bring to your attention that the problem we have had is the absence of real economists in governments but men who are pseudo economists, claiming to be the economists. It has been unfortunate that anybody who finds himself in government turns an accidental and emergency economist, mistaking his mere ideas as economic policies.”

He noted: “It is high time we departed from those absurdities called growth policies that are not sympathetic with the poor. It is high time we led our people from the intergenerational transmission of poverty to sustainable economic prosperity. It is time we created the real jobs and generated the income without the clouding out tax policies of the government overtime. It is time we based our growth and development policies on research outcomes.

“So, it is high time the government employed the real experts and real technocrats who fully understand where we stand in the global development matrix, not those ruthless business profiteers who are supposed to be recipients of economic policies but given the infamous opportunities overtime to make the new orthodoxy end in “Roganomics” and “Thatcherism”.

“I believe this is why God has specially chosen to shame the strong and the rich, which has just found expression in you. Therefore, I assure you that the Nigerian Economic Society in the state, which composes of the oriental economists under my leadership, is prepared to join hands with your government to implement policies that would lead to an egalitarian society, and a model for other sub-national governments.”