The Buhari Media Organization (BMO) has released a statement debunking a statement credited to Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari, the Governor of Zamfara State who warned against an impending recession in 2020.
Recall that earlier this week, the Zamfara State Governor warned against another recession. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (NCCI) have since debunked the claim.
Blueprint reports that the BMO released a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, on Friday in Abuja where they recalled that the CBN had assured Nigerians that there were no indicators suggesting an oncoming recession, and that the alarm raised by Yari who is Chairman of the Governors forum is patently wrong and misguided.
The statement read:
“Nigerians should dismiss the false alarm raised by Governor Yari because the Buhari administration runs the Nigerian economy on an economic template of Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) with a robust roadmap towards sustainable growth. How can Nigeria slip back into recession when there is a tight monetary policy which has seen an increase in the Nations foreign Reserves to $44.3 billion dollars from $22 billion dollars left by the PDP administration?
“How can Nigeria slip back into recession when there are deliberate attempts at revamping Nigeria’s rail system, deepening road networks and giving facelifts to airports across the country? How can Nigeria slip back into recession when reforms like Treasury Single Account (TSA) have been actively pursued to cut down on the leakages from the public treasury?
“How can Nigeria slip back into recession when the Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Fund (NSWF) managed by the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) grew by $350 million? Despite concerns, “Nigeria’s Central Bank forecast shows that the country’s GDP will record a sustained growth trajectory from its present 1.9% to 3% in 2019 and attain the single digit inflation target encapsulated in the ERGP.
“Yes, Nigeria’s population growth currently outpaces Nigeria’s economic growth of 3.2% year on year with the population rising higher than the country’s GDP growth forecast of 3% for the year 2019. But then, Nigeria, after exiting recession in 2016, has shown growth potentials from policies targeted at diversifying the economy, to courting foreign direct investments (FDI) and reducing inflation rate from a high 18% to a manageable 11.2%. The country has also improved per capita income, consumer price and manufacturing index.”
“What Nigerians stand to gain from new banks operating either regionally or nationally include access to credit for small and medium enterprises and jobs for the pool of Nigerians in the labor market.”
According to BMO, the indicators are easily verifiable; there is a deliberate policy direction to lift more Nigerians out of poverty, it is evident from the impact assessment and independent report of the administration’s social investment programmes (SIP) that have touched 13 million Nigerians across the youth, women, and children demography. The group described as shocking “that some leaders would offer comments based on unverified reports and lacking insight as well as background information.”
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