Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Osinbajo blames Niger Delta militants for recession

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has attributed the current economic recession to the activities of militants in the Niger Delta.
VP Yemi Osinbajo blames Niger Delta militants for recession
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

Osinbajo said there was no way Nigeria would not be affected given the fact that “the nation now loses over one million barrels of crude oil on a daily basis.”

The Vice-President said this on Monday at the maiden meeting of the Presidential Quarterly Business Forum with members of the organised private sector and other stakeholders at the State House Conference Centre, Aso Villa, Abuja.

The meeting is part of the Federal Government’s effort to continually engage regularly with different segments of the Nigerian public on its economic policies and direction.

Osinbajo said,
“Perhaps it is important for us to understand the nature of this recession in which we have found ourselves. In discussing this issue of recession, there is the tendency for people to generalise. A lot depends on what sort of recession and how we got here.” 
“If we did not have vandalism in the Niger Delta as we are currently suffering, we will not have this recession today. Moreover, in looking at the solutions, we should try to focus on the type of problem we have and what instigated it then we can begin to come up with better solutions.”
Osinbajo, who is the head of the Economic Management Team, said the Federal Government was ready to address challenges in the power sector.

The members of the organised private sector, who were present, listed 13 challenges they were facing.

Top on the list are access to finance which  got 32ý per cent vote, access to foreign exchange (23 per cent), high interest rates – (18 per cent) and high energy cost (18 per cent).

Other challenges listed are: transport and infrastructural deficit (nine per cent), weak export support, inconsistent government policies, and absence of clear investment policies.

Culled from www.punchng.com

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