Economy: CBN Governor pushes for greater collaboration

 

The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele has called for greater collaboration between the monetary and fiscal authorities in Nigeria in the collective task of revamping the country’s economy.

 

Mr. Emefiele made the call in a keynote address at the opening of 2016 Fiscal Liquidity Assessment Committee (FLAC) Retreat with the theme: “Fiscal Policy under Uncertainty: Implications for Macro-Economic Stability,” held at the CBN International Training Institute (ITI), Abuja, on Thursday, October 27, 2016.

 

According to the Governor, who was represented by his Deputy in charge of the Economic Policy Directorate, Dr. (Mrs.) Sarah Alade, the current economic situation provided an opportunity for both the monetary and fiscal authorities to come up with options for fiscal policies capable of steering the economy towards stable macroeconomic fundamentals required for sustainable growth and development in Nigeria.

 

 

He attributed the current recession in the country to the damaging effects of external and domestic shocks in the country, noting that the over-dependence on oil had made the national economy vulnerable to the falling global crude oil prices.

 

While noting that monetary policy had risen to the economic challenge by deploying all the conventional and unconventional tools within its purview, Mr. Emefiele maintained that the antidotes to the crisis were mainly outside the domain of monetary policy.

 

He therefore charged the FLAC to come up with options for fiscal policy to complement the effort of monetary policy in steering the Nigerian “out of the storms of uncertainties”.

 

Welcoming participants earlier, in her capacity as Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Dr. (Mrs.) Alade expressed optimism that the twin problems of tepid economic growth and spiraling inflation that was currently facing the Nigerian economy were surmountable.

 

 

She listed the solutions to the current challenge to include: a well-coordinated mix of monetary and fiscal policy making, economic diversification, revitalizing agriculture, fixing infrastructure, bolstering taxation and fiscal discipline.

 

Dr. Alade therefore urged technocrats in the monetary and fiscal jurisdictions to focus their ideas on issues that would launch Nigeria back on the path of stable and self-sustainable growth and development.

 

In his opening remarks, the Director, Monetary Policy Department, Mr. Moses Tule identified the challenges facing the economy and charged participants to also come up with new ideas on how best to ensure proper monetary and fiscal policy coordination.

 

Present at the retreat were top technocrats from the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF), Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Debt Management Office (DMO), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

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