Recession: Buhari’s govt brags, read what finance minister said

– Federal Government in a bid to stimulate economic activities says it is releasing additional N350bn for capital projects captured in the 2016 budget

– The minister of finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun said that the release of the additional N350bn brings the total capital releases made by the government to N760bn

Finance minister, Kemi Adeosun

The Federal Government in a bid to stimulate economic activities says it is releasing additional N350bn for capital projects captured in the 2016 budget.

The minister of finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, gave the figure on Friday while briefing journalists on intervention measures being taken by the government to reflate the economy which is currently in recession.

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She said that the release of the additional N350bn brings the total capital releases made by the government to N760bn.

She said with the economy in recession, the level of consumer demand would be reduced drastically, hence the need for government to step in by injecting liquidity.

She said; “What government wants to do is to step in and begin to spend and pushing more money into the economy and then get things moving again. Since the budget was passed in May, we have released N420bn. As we speak now, we are about releasing another N350bn. Everything has been between May and now.

“One of the sectors we spent the money on, of course the largest, has been power, works and housing. Quite a lot has gone on defence because we need to rebuild the credibility of our Army.”

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The minister said out of the N350bn, the government would be setting aside N60bn for the implementation of the social intervention programme.

She said the implementation of social safety schemes was vital, as it would enable the government to provide direct cash to vulnerable Nigerians.

Also, she said that there was a strategic plan by the administration to see that the recession ended soon and also ensure that the economy recovered fully.

“We have a strategic plan that will take us out of the recession we have found ourselves in; we want to make sure the recession is as short as possible because we do not want a prolonged recession.

“From what we are looking at we do not think that it will be a prolonged recession; we think that some of the initiatives that we are working on will now begin to bear fruits.

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“We are on course and are confident that the plan we have put together will work and put the economy back on track. “It is a long term plan that would reposition the economy so that we do not go into this boom and burst circles that are driven by the oil price.

“The economy has to be more resilient than that so that we do not find ourselves back where we are.’’

She said that although there was no specific date to end the recession, the fact that there were measures in place was enough indication that the end of the recession had begun and that Nigeria would come out stronger.

Listing some of the measures the administration had taken to address the situation, she said that since the budget was released in May, over N420 billion had been released and cash backed for capital projects. She said that the largest sector that the money was spent on was Power, Works and Housing.

Meanwhile, governors of the 36 states in Nigeria have thrown their weight behind economic measure introduced by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to bring the country out of recession.

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