Minister of finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, has revealed that she cannot predict when the country will out of the current economic recession.Adeosun added that government to reflate the economy had started yielding results.On the proposed plan to sell the country’s national assets, Mrs Adeosun said no final decision has been made.
Nigeria’s minister of finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, has revealed that she cannot predict when the country will out of the current economic recession. Recall that Adeosun has earlier last week said about N770bn had been channelled into the economy for various capital projects this year. Mrs Adeosun made this revelation when she spoke with Punch newspaper adding that government to reflate the economy had started yielding results. “I don’t want to predict when we will get out of recession. Let me tell you that we will get into growth and that’s how you get out of recession, because of the stimulus that we are providing.“And it may take longer than we would like, but we will definitely get out of it. We are already seeing some positive signs in agriculture and solid minerals;and with what we are trying to do with other sectors, I am very sure we will get out of it soon.” On the proposed plan to sell the country’s national assets, Mrs Adeosun said no final decision has been made.
“I think there are a number of assets that are being considered and I don’t think we have said this one or that one. There are some unused assets that are just lying idle, which people have come and suggested that ‘these things you are not using, can we lease them from you for money?’ “Hence, when they lease them from us, the taxes are still going to come to us. So, there are some things the government is sitting on, we don’t have money to do it, it makes sense for me to unlock those things. So,they bring money into the economy at these difficult times so that we can move forward. “We have not got to the stage of saying it’s this asset, or that. But it’s more of the conversation around should we just keep on borrowing or shall we know that things are a lot more difficult than we envisaged and turn on to an alternative strategy, which is looking at some of the underutilised assets and releasing them.” She added; “We think that the infrastructure challenges that we face are so serious and the kind of money that we need, we can’t borrow. When you have an accumulated deficit, you need to look for the money that will sustain what you are doing for the next three to four years.
“That is what we are doing, having more of a strategic approach so that over time, we will borrow less, and which of course is good.” When asked what type of sale arrangement the government was considering for the national assets, the minister said this depended on the asset classes. “It depends on which one. There are some assets which you can lease and others you may need to divest from. The investor will also have to look at the risks and the pricing. Some assets just make sense to just leave them and there are some, which you may just sell but still hold on to the majority stake.“So, it makes sense and you can sell to the Nigerian people and list on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. So, there are different kinds of sales,” she said. Recall that the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele had last week stated that the country would start getting out of recession by the fourth quarter of the year.
He had said; “We are already in the valley, the only direction is to go up the hill and the government is doing everything possible to ensure that we move up the hill. I am optimistic that based on the actions being taken by the monetary and fiscal authorities, the fourth quarter results will show evidence that we have started to move out of recession. “The worst is over. The Nigerian economy is on the path of recovery and growth. So, please if you are a bystander or sideliner, you are losing; join the train now before it leaves the station.”
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