Economy & Politics
Recession: Economy should be redirected from wasteful consumption to productivity – Peter Obi
Peter Obi has warned that that the current recession could be worse than that of 2016, because debt raised by the administration was not properly invested.
Former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, has said that Nigeria needs to trim the unnecessary expenditure on its budget and redirect the economy towards a production-based one. He also warned that that the current recession would be worse than that of 2016, because debt raised by the administration was not properly invested.
Peter Obi disclosed this in a social media statement on Sunday and in an interview with Channels TV.
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For Nigeria to pull itself out of this economic recession, the 2nd in the last 5 years, there's a compelling need to cut the pork out of the budget and expenditure at all levels of govt and redirect the economy from a wasteful consumption-based one to a productive economy. -PO
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) November 22, 2020
(READ MORE: Nigeria is in a weak financial position to absorb recession shocks —Bismark Rewane)
“For Nigeria to pull itself out of this economic recession, the 2nd in the last 5 years, there’s a compelling need to cut the pork out of the budget and expenditure at all levels of government and redirect the economy from a wasteful consumption-based one to a productive economy,” he said.
He mentioned in his TV interview that Nigeria should emulate other countries trying to pull out of the economic mess by concentrating on improving monetary and fiscal policies.
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He said that the October protests were signs that politicians needed to sit up in order to arrest the situation before it gets worse.
“Every other country is discussing the recession and how to pull their people out of poverty. So, what we should do now is concentrate on the monetary and fiscal policies to start pulling people out of poverty.
“If you see what happened with the recent protests, you could see that we are heading into a problem. And I want our energy to be concentrated on that problem. The politicians, the class where I belong, should do more seriously, across party lines, to be able to arrest the situation before it gets out of hand,” he said
(READ MORE: Nigerians pay heavy price as laptop scarcity bites harder)
He also stated that priority should be on putting food on the table now instead of discussing the 2023 elections.
“For me, it is in discussing how do we put food on people’s table. Elections will come and we can see how to select the best. But let’s deal with the recession we have just entered before 2023.
“This recession is going to be worst than in 2016 because the monies we borrowed then were not properly invested.
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“What we need now is to go into a vigorous regime of formulating implementable and measurable monetary and fiscal policies to drive ourselves out of the present situation,” he said.
What you should know
Nairametrics reported that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in real terms declined by -3.62% (year-on-year) in Q3 2020, thereby marking a full-blown recession and second consecutive contraction from -6.10% recorded in the previous quarter (Q2 2020).
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Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, had warned that Nigeria must stop borrowing for anything other than essential needs. He added that very non-essential line items in the proposed 2021 budget must be expunged in a bid to kick-start the economy from a recession.
Coronavirus
IMF optimistic about global economy but warns new Covid variants could affect recovery
IMF is quite optimistic about the fortune of the global economy but expressed fear that the new Covid variant could derail economic recovery.
Economy & Politics
Updated: President Buhari appoints new Service Chiefs
President Buhari has appointed new Service Chiefs to replace the former with immediate effect.
President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed new Military Service Chiefs, and congratulated the outgoing Service Chiefs for efforts of “enduring peace to the country.”
The appointments was disclosed by Presidential media aide, Femi Adesina in a social media post on Tuesday.
Adesina said: “PMB appoints new Service Chiefs. Maj Gen LEO Irabor, CDS, Maj Gen I Attahiru, Army, Rear Adm AZ Gambo, Navy, AVM IO Amao, Air Force. He congratulates outgoing Service Chiefs on efforts to bring enduring peace to the country.”
President Buhari had come under heavy criticism in the last couple of years over his failure to sack the Service Chiefs for failing to tackle insecurity in the country.
“I have accepted the immediate resignation of the Service Chiefs, and their retirement from service. I thank them all for their overwhelming achievements in our efforts at bringing enduring peace to Nigeria, and wish them well in their future endeavours,” Buhari disclosed in a separate statement.
I have also appointed new Service Chiefs, to replace the retired officers:
Major-General Leo Irabor, Chief of Defence Staff
Major-General I. Attahiru, Chief of Army Staff
Rear Admiral A.Z Gambo, Chief of Naval Staff
Air-Vice Marshal I.O Amao, Chief of Air Staff.
— Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) January 26, 2021
What you should know: The outgoing Service Chiefs were appointed by President Buhari in 2015 and despite clamour from several quarters for the President to replace them with fresh blood, nothing happened until today’s announcement.
Economy & Politics
Investing in digital economy, infrasture crucial to mitigate impact of COVID-19 pandemic – World Bank
Investing in digital economy will be crucial to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and foster a sustained recovery in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The World Bank has asserted that investing in the digital economy and infrastructure will be crucial to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and foster a sustained recovery and foster a sustained recovery in Sub-Saharan Africa.
This is according to the World Bank In Africa report – #AFRICAN CAN.
The report noted that in a time of Covid-19, dominated by lockdowns and social distancing, investing in the digital economy and infrastructure will be crucial to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and foster a sustained recovery.
It argued that the adoption of digital technologies by governments, households and firms in Sub-Saharan Africa still lags behind that of other regions in the world.
The report, therefore, maintains that government intervenes to reduce the cost of devices and services, avoid disconnections for lack of payment, and increase bandwidth will be key, considering that the road to economic recovery is projected to be long and arduous.
What they are saying
The report states that:
“The road to recovery will be long and arduous and will require policies and investments that focus on connecting people to job opportunities, which can help end extreme poverty, particularly post-COVID-19.”
What you should know
Even though the World Bank did not suggest the form that the policies and investments would take in the report, the Bank, in a separate report — flagship report – Global Economic Prospects – as reported by Nairametrics on the 19th of January, 2021, has argued that productivity-enhancing structural reforms are required for quick economic recovery.
The Bank suggests these productivity-enhancing reforms encompass promoting education, effective public investment, sectoral reallocation, and improved governance. Investment in green infrastructure projects can provide further support to sustainable long-run growth while also contributing to climate change mitigation.
According to the report:
- Sub-Saharan Africa is home to more than 1 billion people, half of whom will be under 25 years old by 2050.
- It is a diverse continent offering human and natural resources that have the potential to yield inclusive growth and wipe out poverty in the region, enabling Africans across the continent to live healthier and more prosperous lives.
- With the world’s largest free trade area and a 1.2 billion-person market, the continent is creating an entirely new development path, harnessing the potential of its resources and people.
- Knowledge is essential for governments to make better policies and institutions to make more effective decisions, thus, governments should pay attention to research and analysis.
According to World Bank’s Flagship report – Global Economic Prospects.
- Investment is projected to shrink again this year in more than a quarter of economies – primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where investment gaps were already large prior to the pandemic.
- Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to rebound only moderately to 2.7% in 2021 – 0.4% point weaker than previously projected, before firming to 3.3% in 2022.
Olufemi
November 25, 2020 at 10:21 am
Zainab Usman shd just go,our economy is terribly bashed and ppl r dying 9f hunger & hardship.Emefiele too has failed,still wondering y PMb still keeping ds 2 has has exhausted all they got instead situation keep worsening,cant imagine that a president will be on seat n watch his currency loosing value every other day,now $ is almost #500,pls its tym Buhari sack ds ppl &bring back Kemi Adeosun to revive d mattered economy since his team has failed woefully.