Adopt expansionary economic policies, NIM boss urges FG

PRESIDENT and Chairman of Council, Nigerian Institute of Management (chartered), Emeritus Professor Munzali Jibril, has called on the Federal Government to adopt expansionary macroeconomic policies that will encourage internal borrowing and discourage foreign borrowing,  to avoid capital flight and further inflation and take Nigeria out of its present economic hardship.

Professor Jibril made this known on Thursday, while declaring open the SoutWest zonal summit of the institute held at the Ibadan Business School, Bodija, Ibadan.

The summit had its theme as “Macro and micro economic implications of recession in an emerging economy – strategic way forward: Nigeria as a case study”, presented by Professor Lanre Olaniyan of the Centre for Sustainable Development, University of Ibadan. Also, there were two fellows of the institute, Professor Abel Olorunnisola and engineer Babajide Adelekan as discussants while Mr Temitope Olodo later gave sensitisation all on security management.

According to Professor Jibril, there are a number of things that should be done during a recession, noting that “the underlying principle to all of them should be cut back heavily and reduce spending.”

He warned that to end recession in Nigeria, the government needs among other things, “to respond to it by adopting expansionary macroeconomic policies, such as increasing money supply, increasing government spending and decreasing taxation or Regulating same to avoid double taxation; enhancing access to credit; increasing expenditure on skills; increase in agricultural produce and export; provision of enabling environment for small and medium scale enterprises; massive investment in infrastructural development; regulation of commodity and raw materials prices through consumer protection agency to avoid further inflation; allow market forces to determine the value of the Naira.