SOME financial experts, on Wednesday, advised the Federal Government to strengthen current monetary and fiscal policies which exited the country out of economic recession.
The experts gave the advice in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos while reacting to the second quarter report of National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) which indicated that Nigeria was out of recession.
They lauded the Federal Government for getting the country out of recession, but called for more efforts to sustain economic growth.
Prof Sheriffdeen Tella, a Professor of Economics at Olabisi Onabanjo University Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, advised that bank lending rates should be brought down for the manufacturing sector to have access to credit.
Tella said that government should ensure early passage and implementation of annual budgets, stressing that capital allocations were necessary to sustain the current economic momentum.
He also called for complimentary monetary and fiscal policies.
“CBN and Ministry of Finance must work hand in hand, it is not good for the economy if one is working against the other,” he said.
Mallam Garba Kurfi, the Managing Director, APT Securities and Funds Ltd., said that the nation’s exit from recession would encourage more foreign investments into the country.
Kurfi described the news as a welcome development and advised that government should invest more in sectors that contributed to the exit, especially agriculture to sustain the tempo of current economic growth.
“Government should not allow us to go back into recession; all policies that will help us to sustain the present growth should be promoted,” he said.
Kurfi said that youths should be empowered by the Federal Government through technical and financial assistance to reduce the unemployment rate in the country.
Acting FRC chairman comments
Meanwhile, Mr Victor Muruako, Acting Chairman, Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) has advised the Federal Government to capitalise on the nation’s exit from recession to implement the recovery plan.
Muruako said the Federal Government should focus on the implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) as the country exited recession.
He made the call on Wednesday in Abuja. Muruako said that the target should go beyond getting the nation out of recession but maintaining a healthy economy.
Still on the issue, Dr Augustine Ayuba, an accountant with Kaduna State University (KASU), says Nigeria is practically still in recession because the purchasing power of Nigerians is still low.
On his part, Mr Abdulrauf Aliyu, a development economist and public analyst, said government must now focus on improving the quality of life of Nigerians.
Oil and gas stakeholders react
Stakeholders in the oil and gas sector have expressed optimism that Nigeria’s exit from economic recession will help to stabilise the industry.
They also commended the Federal Government’s effort at exiting the country from the recession in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos.
Dr Afe Mayowa, President, Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN), said Nigeria‘s exit from recession would bring stability in the oil and gas sector, adding that “it’s an indication of good things coming to the industry’’.
Mayowa said that the sector would gradually regain its lost glory, adding that it controlled over 90 per cent stake in the economy.
According to him, the Federal Government has been working hard in ensuring the sector gets over its challenges.
Mr Dada Thomas, the National President, Nigeria Gas Association (NGA), said it was a good news that Nigeria’s economic growth stood at 0.55 per cent in the second quarter of 2017.
Thomas said that government could achieve better and faster growth rate by encouraging gas to power, while urging government to ensure effective policy formulation that would attract investment in the oil and gas sector.
Mr Muda Yusuf, the Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), said that the empirical issues affecting the economy were still there, but added that the latest figures showed that there was improvement at the macro level.
According to him, this gives positive signals to investors that the economy is turning around.
“It shows that some of the positive steps are taking effect at the macro level.
“However, the challenges of productivity, business environment and costs of doing business need to be addressed,” Yusuf said.
‘No recovery until labour, wage issues are addressed’
Comrade Issa Aremu, Secretary General, National Union of Textile and Garment Workers of Nigeria, says Nigeria’s economy would only fully recover when issues of labour, productivity and wages are clearly addressed.
Aremu made the assertion in a statement issued on Wednesday in Kaduna over reports of Nigeria’s economy exiting recession.
He said that the country needed to think bigger and be “ambitious in its quantitative and qualitative growth and development numbers.”
According to him, the purchasing power of Nigerians must also improve through prompt and adequate payments of the country’s over 10 million employed workforce.
“Organised labour has said Nigeria economy had the potential of faster recovery not just exiting recession, if the Federal and states’ governments had put an end to current persistent crisis of compensation of the working class,” he said.
USAID applauds FG
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has applauded the Federal Government for exiting the country out of economic recession.
Mr David Musa, the Team Leader, USAID Bee Keeping Pollination Project, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday, that the report was a welcome development.
He was reacting to the second quarter report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) which indicated that Nigeria was out of recession.
Musa, also the National Technical Expert, Inter-ministerial Committee on Honey Production, Bee Health & Pollination Services, advised the government to create an open market platform especially for bee farmers across the country.