By Dipo Olowookere
Zamfara State Governor, Mr Abdulaziz Yari, has warned that if meaningful steps are not urgently taken, the country may slip into another recession.
In the second quarter of 2016, a year after the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari got into office, Nigeria fell into recession.
But a year later, after suffering contraction for five consecutive quarters, the country exited economic crisis as a result of improvement in the price of crude oil at the global market.
It is important to note that the ‘black gold’ is still the only major source of foreign exchange for Nigeria.
Before the 2016 recession, oil was selling below $60 per barrel, but in 2016, it went below $50 a barrel.
At the opening ceremony of an induction programme for newly-elected and returning governors in Abuja on Monday, Mr Yari, who is the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, said the present price of the commodity could force another recession on Nigeria.
The Brent Crude, which Nigeria produces, sells at the international market below $75 at the moment.
“This scenario is a wake-up call for all of you to come amply prepared to face these kinds of challenges.”
“We are expecting the possibility of another cycle of recession by mid-2020 and which may last up to third quarter of 2021,” the Governor said.
Mr Yari, therefore, advised that governors to “look inward by boosting your revenue generation base” and also use the revenue judiciously.
The Zamfara State governor said the outgoing governors have agreed that borrowing is not a good means of solving economic problems, urging the incoming governors to multiply revenue generation base so as to “change the course of doing government business for the betterment of the people”.
Adedapo Adesanya