Abuja - An
economics expert, Prof. Uka Ezenwe, has advised the Federal Government
to take right fiscal and monetary measures to recover the economy from
recession. Ezenwe said in Abuja on Thursday, that such measures would help the
country out of the economic crisis.
He said that the recession was
not a new thing in economic history, however could lead to depression if not
managed appropriately. The economist said that it could be managed through
fiscal measures such as budgetary measures, tax incentives and subsidy.
"Monetary level,
through the manipulation of interest rates, exchange rate, the government can
minimize the negative impact of recession through these measures.
"Through these
monetary measures, the country can eliminate and revert recession,’’ he said.
According to him, right policies
and measures are necessary to revive the economy.
He said that countries didn’t
come out of recession in two or three months, adding that even when they put in
place certain measures, the measures would take a certain time to manifest.
"It is a process, it’s not
an event, it is like when somebody becomes pregnant, it will take like three
months or more for the pregnancy to start coming out.
"It will take some time
before you start seeing the results of your investment in the economy.
"It is the result of your
investment in the economy that will affect demand and supply; which will also
affect the amount of goods and services in the market.
"It is necessary you take
the right measures, gradual recession will disappear in the country,’’ the
economist said.
However, he expressed optimism
that the country would soon come out of the economic crisis, noting that
Nigeria had a lot of resources.
"This country is blessed
and God loves us so much; we have everything we need, it is because of greed,
poor governance and corruption that we are where we are today.’’
He believes that Nigeria is
technically in recession with negative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate
in the first quarter of 2016.
The GDP in the first quarter of
2016 was -0.36 from 2.11 in the fourth quarter of 2015 and 3.96 in the first
quarter, 2015.
Although, the results of second
quarter of 2016 GDP growth rate will determine if Nigeria is in recession from
a professional point of view.