The federal government has started making plans to rescue the country from the impending recession occasioned by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mr. Godwin Emefiele made this known after briefing President Muhammadu Buhari on the effects COVID-19 is having on the economy.
According to Emefiele, “we are trying to see what we can do as a country to rescue our own situation so we don’t go the direction many will go.”
Emefiele admitted that “it is not going to be easy but we can only assure our people that we are on top of it and that we will resolve it and Nigerians will still be better for it.”
The CBN governor said the Nigerian “economy is not looking as simple as everyone thought it would be.”
He said this is because “the global economy naturally like we all know at this time will naturally suffer growth problems and may even lead to recession globally.”
Earlier, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, who heads the presidential committee to review the impact of coronavirus on the economy, said the committee briefed the president on current happenings around the world due to COVID-19 and the impact on the nation’s economy.
Ahmed said President Buhari has “directed that we should make sure that salaries are paid, make sure critical infrastructure like roads and rails are protected, as much as possible.
The President also directed that local of inputs should be used so that “we retain value within our economy.”
Buhari also directed the committee to make sure they put out “measures that protects the poor and the vulnerable.”
On the purpose of the meeting, Zainab Ahmed stated that, “this meeting was just to brief Mr. President on the consequences of the lockdown which is slowing down the economy and the measures that we need to take to mitigate the negative consequences of the slow trade and businesses.”
