Nigeria’s economy rigged in favour of few, says Peterside

Founder of Stanbic IBTC, Atedo Peterside, has explained that Nigeria’s economy was on a downward path because it had been rigged in favour of a few, and there was no level-playing field, which he said was needed to grow the economy.

Peterside who revealed this at the Vanguard Economic Discourse on Tuesday, opined that after 15 years of economic growth, the downturn began in 2015, stressing that the country is lagging behind other economies.

He explained that the economy was on a downward path because it had been rigged in favour of a few, and there was no level-playing field, which Peterside said was needed to grow the economy.

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The investment banker stated that investors’ confidence in the Nigerian economy had declined, “The Nigerian economy was one of the fastest-growing until 2014. It grew steadily for 15 years but since 2015, it has been declining steadily. We need to ask ourselves what has changed.” he said.

Peterside clarified that, “This is not because other economies are also not growing. Others are growing but we are lagging. Investor confidence in the Nigerian economy is declining because there’s no level-playing field for the investors. The economy has been rigged to favour a few. To grow the economy, we have to create a level-playing field.”

According to the businessman, only the ICT and creatives sector are growing because the government is not involved, “This is because there is a level-playing field for all players in the two industries,” Peterside said.