THE possibility of another recession has been raised by governors of the 36 states of the federation who have stressed the need for Nigerians to be prepared for the challenges ahead.
Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, made this declaration in his address at the opening of a two-day induction programme organized for new and returning governors in Abuja on Monday.
He said the recession is being expected by mid-2020 and may last up to the third quarter of 2021.
While reminding the returning and newly elected governors that they will not have an easy ride in office, Yari observed that the outgoing state administrations made some development strides because the price of oil was relatively high between 2011 and 2014.
He said: “However, by the mid-2014, the price of crude oil, which is sadly the main driving force of government’s expenditure, dropped to 75 dollars per barrel. It, therefore, became very difficult for many states to even pay the salaries of their workers.
“This scenario is a wake-up call for all of you to come amply prepared to face these kinds of challenges especially since we are expecting the possibility of another cycle of recession by the mid-2020 and which may last up to the third quarter of 2021.
“Your good spirit of stewardship will make you contain the situation should there be one. Also, as members of the National Economic Council, you must work hand in hand to boost the economy in tandem with the global best practices.
“Experience, they say, is the best teacher. Ours has been a challenging experience of managing state economies that are totally dependent on accruals from the federation account rather than exploring viable alternatives to run the economy.
“For most of the states, internally generated revenues are nothing to write home about. You must, therefore, look inward by boosting your revenue generation base and also utilise them effectively for the execution of projects that would touch the lives of your people.
“You must not forget the high expectations of our people on us; now that the democracy is maturing day in day out the challenges of governance and service delivery are more demanding.”
The NGF boss noted that the Governors’ Forum, under his chairmanship, and the National Economic Council under the Chairmanship of the Vice President, have agreed that borrowing is never a reliable alternative to solving our economic problems.
He added: “We must work hard among all the tiers of government to multiply our revenue generation bases so that together we change the course of doing government business for the betterment of our people.
“In so doing, key revenue agencies like the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Nigerian Custom Service and other sister agencies must be made to work more effectively especially now that Mr President has signed the much awaited National Minimum Wage law, pegging the minimum workers’ salaries at 30,000 naira per month.
“It is also a source of worry to all reasonable observers that in all modern economies, it is the public that drives the government by supporting it through the payment of their taxes as and when due. In our situation, the reverse is the case.
“It is very unfortunate that our people have a very negative attitude to payment of taxes in full including corporate agencies.”
Yari called for prompt payment of taxes to help the government to achieve its objectives.
In line with this, he said necessary measures should be put in place to provide “a working system.”