Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
While Nigeria is still battling to fully get out recession it went into last year, a new red flag has been raised by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The committee is warning that if the Federal Government fails to implement and sustain policies put in place to grow the economy, the country may slump into a long recession.
Speaking yesterday at the end of the two-day MPC meeting in Abuja, Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, noted that available forecasts of key macroeconomic indicators point to a fragile economic recovery in the second quarter of the year.
But he said the “committee cautioned that this recovery could relapse in a more protracted recession if strong and bold monetary and fiscal policies are not activated immediately to sustain it.”
“Thus, the expected fiscal stimulus and non-oil federal receipts, as well as improvements in economy-wide non-oil exports, especially agriculture, manufacturing, services and light industries, all expected to drive the growth impetus for the rest of the year must be pursued relentlessly,” he stressed.
Mr Emefiele further emphasised that the committee expects that timely implementation of the 2017 budget, improved management of foreign exchange, as well as security gains across the country, especially, in the Niger Delta and North Eastern axis, should be firmly anchored, to enhance confidence and sustainability of economic recovery.
He noted that the committee expressed concern about the slow implementation of the 2017 budget and called on the relevant authorities to ensure timely implementation, especially, of the capital portion in order to realize the objectives of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).
The CBN boss disclosed that the committee identified the downside risks to this outlook to include weak financial intermediation, poorly targeted fiscal stimulus and absence of structural programme implementation.
