To use revenue as evidence of progress is not to understand economics - Pat Utomi slams FG

Professor of Political Economy, Pat Utomi, has criticised the federal government’s economic strategy, warning that its relentless focus on revenue generation is harming the productive capacity of the Nigerian economy.

Speaking on Politics Today on Channels Television on Friday, Utomi argued that government priorities are “misplaced, with resources being funnelled into non-productive sectors, particularly the political class, rather than into growth-driving areas such as agriculture and manufacturing.”

“Most non-productive sectors, the political class, for example, and we need to get the resources that are available to go directly into ramping up food first of all, and then the value chain from those factor endowments around agriculture,” Utomi said.

He claimed the ‘aggressive revenue drive is forcing businesses, including pharmaceutical importers and traders, out of the market due to excessive charges at the ports.’

“Ask any trader today how much they can bring through the ports. The desperation for rising revenue means that every container is being sold at about N18 million or some similar amount,” he said.

“Many pharmaceutical importers have very thin margins on their anti-malarials and related drugs. When they come through the ports in this desperation for revenue and get hit with tax on each container, it means they can’t import a new set of containers of anti-malarials.”

“It means that while government revenues are going up — and are being squandered by politicians — the Nigerian people have no possibility of a better life. This revenue issue needs to be put in context and properly understood. To use revenue as evidence of progress is not to understand economics.”

He also dismissed government claims of economic recovery, arguing that marginal naira stability means little when inflation continues to undercut people’s purchasing power.

“If you are from hell to purgatory, have you been saved from damnation?” he asked rhetorically, stressing that progress must be measured by improvements in living conditions, not just macroeconomic figures.

“Food is the ultimate. When people can’t eat, anything can happen,” he said, calling for urgent investment in agriculture, education, and healthcare as the true path to a sustainable economy.

The comments come days after the National Bureau of Statistics reported a 3.13 percent GDP growth rate for Q1 2025, up from 2.27 percent in Q1 2024. Utomi, however, insisted that such figures do not reflect the reality of life for most Nigerians.