A former President of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Mr Samuel Nzekwe, wants the Federal Government to make policies that will reduce the inflation rate in 2013.
Nzekwe told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos that the government needed to take aggressive measures that would address the increase in the nation’s inflation rate.
?‘’Inflation undermines purchasing power and once the purchasing power is weak, it will affect the people’s standard of living,’’ he said.
Nzekwe said that the high rate of inflation had increased the level of poverty and devalued the nation’s currency.
NAN recalls that the inflation rate increased from 11.7 per cent in October to 12.3 per cent in November.
NAN also reports that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 12 per cent seven times in 2012.
The MPR is the rate at which the apex bank lends to commercial banks.
Nzekwe urged the government to make deliberate effort to stimulate the real sector to produce more goods and services for local consumption and export, in order to shore up the nation’s revenue.
?“Once more goods and services are produced, the inflation rate will automatically come down,'' he said.
Nzekwe advised the government to make consistent policies that would impact positively on various sectors of the economy.