More economic development analysts have continued to review the latest World Bank Report on sub-Saharan economies and mainly the still fragile oil price driven Nigerian economy.
Key pronouncements of the Report on the Nigerian economy are as follows: “In Nigeria, although the manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMIs remained above the neutral 50-point mark—which denotes expansion—they fell further in February, due to weaker rises in output and new sales orders across firms.
“Household consumption in Nigeria has remained subdued, while multiple exchange rates, foreign exchange restrictions, low private sector credit growth, and infrastructure constraints have continued to weigh on private investment.”
In fact, the Chief Economist for Africa at the World Bank, Albert Zeufack, remarked that time to move emphasis on technology driven economy is now rather than the ageless resource economy option, saying “Sub Saharan region could boost annual growth by about nearly two percentage points if it harnessed Information Technology more effectively.”
“This is a game-changer for Africa,” he added.
Looking at the World Bank position, many Nigerian analysts concurred on the slipping spree, saying it has been very hard to predict activities in any sector of the economy including the oil and gas due to Federal Government’s policy inconsistency and random rejection of passed bills that have strong economic implications by the National Assembly.
They also disagreed with government on the performance of the administration’s lead economic guide; the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), saying the observed rejection of sensitive economic bills for assent under this administration suggests lack of understanding of the ERGP even by the promoters.
Recall that since two years ago, the Presidency declined assent to PIGB and only recently, the same fate came on over five strategic economic reform bills.
However, in a swift response, the image maker of the apex bank, Mr Isaac Okorafor, claimed that under the current governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, the lead lender had shown so much ingenuity in managing the economy.
He noted that “You know the crisis that we have faced in the past three years. The bank has shown ingenuity in managing the situation and ensuring that everything is stable.”
