The Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Godwin Emefiele has said that despite exiting recession, Nigeria must brace itself for the next global economic
The Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Godwin Emefiele has said that despite exiting recession, Nigeria must brace itself for the next global economic crisis. Emefiele said this while delivering a lecture titled: ‘Beyond the Global Financial Crisis: Monetary Policy under Global Uncertainty,’ at the University of Benin, Benin, Edo State on Wednesday.
Last week Sahara Reporters had released an audio of a frantic effort by the CBN governor to find money which he and other top CBN officials allegedly spent, about N500bn, to restore to the bank before it becomes obvious to shareholders and the government, adding that the implication would be terrible to the economy. The CBN however dismissed the tape, saying it was the handiwork of mischief makers. No investigation was carried out.
Speaking at the lecture, Emefiele said: “From some of my concluding remarks, you may have observed, whether you like it or not, there is global uncertainty that will, unfortunately, most certainly lead to another crisis. The question could be, how are we as Nigerians preparing our country for the next crisis?
“We have luckily exited recession; we have seen recession pending downward to about 18.72 per cent in 2017 to about 11. 37 per cent today. We have seen the reserve moving up but unfortunately we still have issues and those issues border on the unemployment rate and those issues border on how we prepare our country,”
“After five consecutive quarters of negative growth beginning in the 1st quarter of 2016, a coordinated approach by the fiscal and monetary authorities supported a rebound in the nation’s economy during the second quarter of 2017. The recovery has been driven largely by improved non-oil activities especially the agriculture sector which expanded consistently by about 3.5 per cent to 4.3 per cent reflecting government’s efforts at diversifying the economy,” he added.
