By Our Reporter
The Group Managing Director of BGL, Albert Okumagba, has risen in defence of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, on the lopsidedness of government expenditure in the country. Okumagba told journalists in Abuja yesterday that while one would not recommend the sacking of workers, Sanusi should not be vilified because he spoke in the context of a national debate on the efficiency of public spending in Nigeria.
Okumagba said although the government’s needs to reduce the recurrent expenditure so as to free funds for investments in key sectors, what is required mainly is a situation where there is an enhancement of the Nigeria’s workforce, and monies are spent in a most beneficial manner.
He said what government needs to do more especially to achieve Vision 2020 is to reform various government institutions, such that they become the first choice jobs.
“Government business is more serious than private sector,” he said.
Even though he acknowledged that the civil service was somehow over-bloated, he suggested that rather than down-size, government should begin to look for ways of radically expanding its revenue generation base through taxes and exploitation of natural resources.

It will be recalled that Sanusi had in Warri last week called for the review of the structure of Government spending as it affects the ratio of recurrent to capital budgets in the country, which he said might involve the rightsising of the Federal civil service to free up more resources for capital expenditure on such things as infrastructure, education and health.