By Naomi Uzor

An economic analysts and former member of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN Monetary Policy Committee, Dr. Doyin Salami,    has said that anxieties over the 2019 elections will likely slow down    capital inflows into the economy and increase demand    pressure on the foreign exchange market.

Salami, who is also an Associate Professor at Lagos Business School disclosed this    at the March, 2018 breakfast meeting of the Nigerian American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), urging    the government to avoid allowing politics to trump economics and policy making, as investors are watching how the risks will be managed.

“Elections have the impact of slowing inflows into Nigeria, This happens anywhere in the world as elections approach. From June to October, I expect to see a slow-down. If the investors are not so sure, there may be outward flows”, he said.

According to him: “There are four major drivers of the Nigerian economy, including international trade, policy, Diaspora transfers and capital flows, and effort must be made to make capital easily accessible.”

President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dr. Frank Jacobs, who was represented by Olusegun Osidipe,   said manufacturers see the elections hurting the implementation of some government policies, which will eventually impact negatively on capacity utilisation and margins.

“There should be a monitoring mechanism and evaluations to enable us monitor the policies” he said.

He said the manufacturing sector in Nigeria is not competitive owing to high energy spend, poor infrastructure and regulation.

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