The Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN) has advised the federal government on the need to exercise restraint on further accumulation of debts; since such borrowings have begun to take their toll on the nation’s economy.

Making the plea in his address at the association’s Annual General Meeting held, in Lagos, on recently, its  president, Surveyor Akinloye Oyegbola,  argued that while borrowing could be desirable, especially if used to fund infrastructure; he however noted that it would not be in the best interest of the country, when a huge chunk of the nation’s resources are being used to service such debts, as it is being presently done.

He decried a situation where the country spent a sum of N1.02 trillion on domestic and foreign debt servicing  in the first quarter of 2021, thereby leaving little or nothing for capital expenditure.

“Recent data shows that Nigeria’s external debt is approaching  $45billion. The Board resolved that if  the loans are for infrastructure, then they will pay out themselves.  We however call for caution as data has also shown that the country is spending a huge chunk of its annual budget on debt servicing.

“The Nigerian government spends a sum of N1.02trillion on domestic and foreign debt service in the first quarter of 2021, representing a 35.7% year-on-year increase to N753.7billion spent in the corresponding period of 2020,” he added.

While commending the federal government on the gradual recovery of the nation’s economy, as evident in the drop in inflation rate to 17.01% in August 2021, the association however appealed to the federal government to come up with effective policies that would save the value of the nation’s currency, the naira, from further decline.

“We are concerned about the free fall of the naira, against the dollar, in recent times. While we are aware that the government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is doing its best to get the naira stable, we see still the  condition of the naira today as worrisome,” he added.

Surveyor Oyegbola also charged the federal government and the sub-nationals to quickly resolve the ongoing controversies surrounding the issue of VAT, warning that if allowed to linger, it could result in crisis, that would further depress the nation’s economy.

He also used the opportunity to appeal to the national and sub-national governments in the country, on the need to avail themselves of the services of the nation’s professionals, noting that despite such appeals in the past, governments had not been making enough use of the indigenous  professionals.

“The Board will therefore like the to use this opportunity to call on those in government to begin to look inwards. For instance, APBN boasts of an array of qualified professionals that can rub shoulders with their peers anywhere in the world, and we are ready for national assignments,” Oyegbola stated.

Meanwhile, in his presentation, the Guest Speaker,  Engineer Kadri Adebayo Adeola, in his paper titled, Rethinking Professionalism, Leadership and Development, ueged professionals in Nigeria to exhibit competence and be ready to provide quality services to enable their customers and clients get value for their money.

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He stated that the call had become imperative since many Nigerian professionals do not exhibit adequate competence and ethics, thereby making redress difficult to find in the event of dissatisfaction by the client.

The Guest Speaker argued that  besides regulating their members and seeing to their welfare, the essence of professional associations is also to protect the public from incompetent and unethical professionals.

This, he added, can be achieved through strict admission processes and continued education programmes for members by the association.

He also charged the nation’s professionals on the need to jettison the entitlement mentality they presently exhibit, and work hard on providing products and services that will delight their customers, clients and the end-users of their offerings.

“Professional associations  tend to focus more on complaining about the inadequacies of government, on the welfare of their members and do not pay adequate attention to their competences and/or the quality of service they render to the public.

“Independence for the professional starts with acquiring competence in his field of endeavour and continuing to maintain this competence throughout his professional career. In return, he or she must provide quality service to his or her various clients,” he added.

He however decried the present situation in the country where most professions do not have viable or visible professional associations to regulate them, especially at the vocational and artisan levels.

“Even among the elite professions where professional associations exist, the focus of the professional associations is generally on the welfare of their members rather than the quality of service delivery to the public. More emphasis is laid on qualification rather than competence.

“If the hypothesis that the daily living experience of the citizenry derives from interaction with professionals is accepted, then the frustration experienced by the citizenry can be significantly improved if the quality of professional performance improves,” he added.

Engr. Adeola charged the nation’s professionals to up their ante by taking on the greater challenges of national development.

Speaking on behalf of the recipients, the Chief (Mrs) Udu thanked the leadership of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) for finding her worthy to be nominated for the award.

“I encourage the young ones to be diligent and focused in pursuing excellence, as they advance in their career ensuring quality service especially those in the health sector. a key to success is to deliver  services  as you wish to receive or be treated and awards will seek and compliment your efforts,” she added.

Vanguard News Nigeria