BY Mayowa Tijani
The National Economic Council (NEC), on Thursday, approved the plans of the federal government to beat the current economic recession.
The council, made up of the 36 governors and the central bank governor, and chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, expressed support for the plans and proposals of Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, and Udo Udoma, minister of budget and national planning.
The council said the duo were working assiduously to steer Nigeria out of the current economic recession driven by a plunge in crude oil prices, the mainstay of the economy.
“While acknowledging the current economic challenges and difficulties, state governors at the meeting also endorsed the work of the president’s economic management team and specifically commended the budget and planning and finance ministers,” Laolu Akande, special assistant to the vice president, said in a statement.
Adeosun and Udoma were subject of heated discussions at the national assembly on Wednesday and Thursday, as some senators called for their removal.
Ike Ekweremadu, deputy senate president, and Dino Melaye, senator representing Kogi west, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to remove or redeploy both ministers.
The move, which was seen as largely political, was immediately rebuffed by Shehu Sani, senator representing Kaduna central, who said their removal will not get Nigeria out of recession.
Sani went on to support Adeosun’s call for a cut in interest rate to drive growth in the economy.
“We must cut interest rates, start diversification of the economy, empower small businesses so that they will be able to produce and export. The key to getting out of this is export of goods and services,” Sani had said.
“Removing the minister of finance will not be able to get us out of this problem because this recession is not Nigeria’s alone. It is all countries that are dependent on oil revenue”.
Buhari, in an article from New York, said Nigerian must not be distracted by the current lamentations surrounding the country’s economic situation.
He said the necessary lessons had been learnt, and that the country will never rely on oil again.
Outlining the work being done in Nigeria, Buhari said “since I signed the 2016 budget into law in May, Nigeria’s Ministry of Finance has released more than 400 billion naira for infrastructure spending — more than the total amount spent in 2015.”
“Nigeria is on the rise, but that this ‘Rising’ is real and lasting — one that touches not just the statistical databases, but the lives of the people who elected us to deliver positive change”.
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