Buhari group cautions Zamfara gov. Yari over recession claim

The Buhari Media Organization (BMO) has joined the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (NCCI) to debunk the statement credited to the Zamfara State governor at the Nigerian Governors Forum that the governors should brace up for another recession in 2020.

BMO, in a statement signed by its Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary, Cassidy Madueke, recalled that the CBN had assured Nigerians that there are 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.

BMO said, “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 from $22 billion 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,” the group added, “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,” the group added.

The pro-Buhari group noted that the CBN recently issued five new banking licenses which is a testimony to the viability of the economy.

The consequences of home-grown fiscal and monetary policies have created an enabling environment for risk takers to source capital locally to acquire the banking licenses.

“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,” they added.