Tourism can Bail Economy out of Recession –Obasanjo

Former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has advocated more investments to unlock the full potential of the country’s tourism for enhance economic prosperity.

Obasanjo stated this yesterday in Lagos while addressing the 41st session of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) as special guest of honour.
Speaking on the theme of the AGM, “Tourism in a Recessed Economy,” the former president described tourism as a catalyst for growing any economy in contemporary times and said that if properly harnessed can take the country out of its present economic recession. He said for a country as blessed as Nigeria, its nationals and government have no reason to look elsewhere for economic growth.
“We need to pay attention to tourism. People are still traveling everywhere and that shows that with tourism, there will be nothing like recession in Nigeria,” said Obasanjo.  “We should even pay more attention to domestic tourism. Nigerians don’t travel much within the country and it is something we need to embrace. Domestic tourism can generate a lot of revenue for the country,” he added.
Obasanjo whose speech was read on his behalf by the President of NANTA, Mr. Bankole Bernard, said he was working hard to turn Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, into a major tourist site.
The former Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAC), Dr. Harold Demuren, who was the keynote speaker, said with tourism, Nigeria can banish recession. He charged travel agents to look inward and focus their attention on marketing the many tourist attractions in the country that need to be explored by the people.
Also sharing his experience on opportunities in the aviation and tourism sectors, the Managing Director of Medview Airline, Alhaji Muneer Bankole, said recession offers the best opportunity for the country and people to diversify their sources of revenue as he urged travel agents to be more creative and innovative as there are a lot of business opportunities in the aviation and tourism markets to explore.

Source: sunnewsonline

Adeosun wants National Assembly to cut CBN Governor’s Powers

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, yesterday asked for the reduction of the powers of the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). She blamed the extensive powers of the governors for the disconnect between Federal Government’s monetary and fiscal policies.She pleaded with the National Assembly that conferred the powers on the CBN boss, through a legal instrument, to slash them to pave the way for checks and balances.

 National Assembly

If this becomes the case, the reaction time of the CBN to monetary upheavals will be greatly impaired as it is expected to act through a supervising agency.In fact, financial experts disagree, saying any such move will result in undue political interference in monetary policies, which will not augur well for the economy.Adeosun made the call yesterday while receiving members of the House of Representatives Tactical Committee on Recession led by Bode Ayorinde.

She said it amounted to what she described as excesses on the part of the apex bank’s governor to decide and act on financial matters without recourse to the minister of finance, who is constitutionally required to supervise financial policies, programmes and activities of the Federal Government.

“I want to correct the impression that the CBN is under us. They are not. Unfortunately, a law was passed, making them independent and giving them more powers. This has resulted in one person having so much power.

“In the time of Prof. Charles Soludo as CBN governor, he went to the National Assembly asking for more powers and you can see where that has taken us to. So we are back to the legislature to help us correct this problem of too much power. As a result, there are no checks and balances,” she said.

Under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, the then CBN governor ordered the sacking and trial of bank chiefs and introduced monetary policies to regulate certain activities in the financial sector.

But none of the CBN governors – including the incumbent, Godwin Emefiele, and former ones, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, and Charles Soludo, picked their calls or responded to text messages from The Guardian to them. Soludo, whom Adeosun identified as the chief protagonist of the current impasse, in a text message response, merely said: “Sorry, I am abroad and can only be reached via text please.”

But industry analysts like the Director-General, West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management, Prof. Akpan Ekpo, said such an idea should be thrown out immediately, as it was outdated and out of sync with modern global trends.

  “I have no details, but if this is actually what she said, it is not acceptable. The Central Bank should remain independent and not be brought under the Ministry of Finance. Nigeria is too large and not equipped for that arrangement. The CBN should not be seen as a subset of the ministry,” he said.

Erstwhile banker and financial expert, Fola Adeola, reinforcing the CBN’s autonomy as a global practice, said the relationship between the ministry and CBN should be the coordination of monetary and fiscal policies.

  “While I do not know exactly what she said and meant, but if the move is to reduce CBN’s powers, it may be tantamount to an infringement on its autonomy. On the other, if the matters in question are anything other than monetary policy issues, she may have a case to make,” he said.

The Deputy Managing Director of financial services advisory firm, Afrinvest Limited, Victor Ndukauba, is more concerned about how the adverse impact it would have on the larger economy by subjecting the CBN to the ministry’s supervision.

He said: “Ideally, the Central Bank should have only one function and that is monetary, controlling inflation. To say that the governor and the Central Bank should be under the control of the Executive would mean that any decision that is made by the CBN will be subjected to political influence. So, the place of the Central Bank is sacrosanct. In fact, if we are to take any step in removing or rolling back that independence, it would not augur well for us.”

In view of the challenges the principal parties may face in achieving set goals under the current economic crisis, Udukauba called for a synergy between the two, in order to realise common goals of stemming galloping inflation, cutting high unemployment rate and buoying economic activities.

Meanwhile, regarding the status of the sum accumulated from the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), Adeosun dismissed claims that the N5.244 trillion said to have been accumulated so far has either been appropriated or misappropriated.

“The position as regards the funds in the TSA is that we are thinking of using the balance in the account to back two initiatives. One is for the Development Bank of Nigeria that is coming up, while the other will be for the Bank of Agriculture, for lending to SMEs and farmers, respectively,” she explained.

The minister, who reeled out efforts of the administration in recovering funds through the ongoing workers’ verification, said the government had so far recovered about N6.8 billion pension funds allegedly stolen by certain officials.

She noted that corruption had been the bane of economic growth in the country, assuring that with the right policies in place, along with emphasis on capital projects, the country would quickly get out of recession.

Earlier, Ayorinde, who led the lawmakers, had solicited the cooperation of the Ministry in finding ways of boosting the economy. He said a public hearing that would deal with the management of recession was being planned for stakeholders.

The lawmaker urged the government to provide reliefs and incentives to manufacturers to enhance their activities and help resuscitate dying companies.As if taking up the task thrown at it by the finance minister, the Senate has invited the CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, to explain the apex bank’s Intervention Funding Programmes to qualified Nigerian companies and exporters.

The upper legislative chamber also urged the bank to consider implementing expeditiously, the approvals and disbursement of intervention facilities to those companies in the real sector that merit such facilities.

The resolution followed a motion by Mao Ohuabunwa (PDP, Abia North), who maintained that Nigeria’s drive to haul the economy out of recession, will fail if qualified companies do not access the CBN facilities.

To this end, the legislative body invited the CBN governor to address it on the progress made so far through the use of its various intervention faculty programmes, including the list of beneficiary companies, factories and exporters .

source: theguardianng

CBN Retains Lending Rate At 14% As FAAC Shares N429bn

For the fifth time in nine months, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has maintained official interbank interest rate at 14 per cent, citing recent economic indicators are supporting variables behind the decision.
Rising from its 2-day meeting yesterday, Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the apex bank also retained the CRR at 22.5 per cent and Liquidity Ratio at 30.00 per cent. The committee also retained the Asymmetric corridor at +200 and -500 basis points around the MPR.
‘‘The committee in consideration of the headwinds in the domestic economy and the uncertainties in the global environment, decided by 9 out of 10 members to retain the MPR at 14.0 per cent alongside all other policy parameters,’’ the CBN governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele said yesterday while addressing reporters at the end of the meeting in Abuja. One member voted to reduce the MPR.
The MPC increased the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 200 basis  – points from 12 to 14 in July last year and has refused to reduce it since then.

Central Bank of Nigeria

Giving reasons for the retention, the MPC pointed to the fact that headline inflation (year-on-year), declined for the first time in 15 months, dropping by 0.94 percentage point to 17.78 per cent in February, from  the  18.72 per cent recorded in January 2017, and 18.55 per cent in December, 2016 seemingly reversing the monthly upward momentum recorded since January, 2016 within the same period the bank retained the MPR at 14 per cent.
He said the moderation in headline inflation in February, 2017 reflected base effect as well as decline in the core component, which fell by 1.90 percentage points from 17.90 per cent in January to 16.0 per cent in February, 2017.
Calling for speedy implementation of the federal government’s economic recovery and growth plan, Emefiele said the Committee remains of the conviction that fiscal policy remained the most potent panacea to most of the key negative undercurrents i.e. stunted economic activity, heightened unemployment and high inflation bedeviling the economy.
“The Committee expressed satisfaction on the release of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, and urged its speedy implementation with clear timelines and deliverables.  On the strength of these developments, the Committee felt inclined to maintain a hold on all policy parameters,” Emefiele said.
“The Committee expects that the implementation of this plan, the new foreign exchange policy as well as the current effort by the Federal Government to restore peace in the Niger Delta region would help revive economic growth and stabilize prices,” he added.
The governor was vehement that available data and forecasts of key economic variables as well as the newly released Federal Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) combine to indicate prospects of output recovery in 2017.
In the communiqué that was issued at the end of the meeting, the Committee expressed optimism that the adopted policy stance and other ancillary measures directed at improving the agricultural and other relevant sectors of the economy would combine to restart growth and drive down prices in the short to medium-term.
Meanwhile, commenting on the MPC decision yesterday, analysts said if the decline in inflation rate continues and the economy improves in coming months, the monetary policy will have to adopt an accommodative policy.
The Minister of Finance had earlier in the year, just before the first MPC meeting or the year expressed a desire for the committee to cut rates I order to make credit cheaper for real sector operators who had since last year been calling for a cut in benchmark interest rate.
According to the managing director and chief executive of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, the CBN’s capacity to reduce interest rates in the near future will hinge on several factors including the GDP growth figures for the first quarter of 2017, headline inflation in March and April, crude oil production and the exchange rate.
Inflation had fallen in February this year for the first time in 15 months dropping to 17.78 per cent from 18.72 per cent in January and is anticipated to further decline in coming months. The value of the naira at the interbank market had weakened slightly to N307 to the dollar but had been gathering strength at the parallel market rising from an all-time low of N500 to the dollar to N430 yesterday.
Bismarck noted further that the implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), alongside increased borrowing, will likely stimulate economic activity and be complemented by an accommodative stance on the part of the monetary policy makers.
On his part, an analyst with FXTM, Lukman Otunuga said the fact that the CBN “decided to keep monetary policy unchanged should be no surprise especially when factoring how the nation is in the process of a critical structural transformation.
“Although the lingering fears decelerating economic growth and concerns over surging prices have partially attributed to the Central Bank’s passive stance, the overall sentiment towards the nation continues to display early signs of improvement.
Some optimism exists over the nation’s recovery, with Nigeria’s inflation declining for the first time in 15 months in February and the noticeable increase in Dollar sales for importers bolstering the Naira on the black market exchange. If economic data continues to follow a positive path in the long term and inflation cools then there is a possibility of the Central Bank cutting interest rates to stimulate growth” he stated.

Monetary, Fiscal Authorities Agree on Harmonisation of Policies

Desirous of sustainable monetary and fiscal collaboration in efforts to pull the economy out of the current crisis, the leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the ministries of Finance, Budget and National Planning as well as Trade and Investment, at weekend, sought to harmonise several policy perspectives.

Speaking at the opening of the two-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) retreat at the CBN’s Corporate Headquarters in Abuja at the weekend, with the theme: “Pathway to Price Stability Conducive to Economic Growth,” the apex bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, under whose auspices the meeting was convened, reiterated the need for the country’s monetary and fiscal authorities to collaborate and harmonise standpoints to develop the economy rapidly.

Emefiele, who also chairs the Monetary Policy Committee, said the MPC Retreat, which for the first time had in attendance a large representation of the fiscal authorities, was coming at a period when the country faced serious economic challenges.

MPC Committee members
He added that finding a sustainable solution required a broadened participation of colleagues from the fiscal side.

He said that the retreat, as a brainstorming session, would provide perspectives on certain Monetary Policy Committee decisions.

The banker said it would also close the gap on the coordination between monetary and fiscal authorities to chart a common course and take decisions to develop the economy.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, said both the monetary and fiscal authorities had no choice but to work together to guarantee the country’s economic growth.

He maintained that the pathway to lower interest rate was to ensure monetary and fiscal authorities’ collaboration with the private sector.

Also, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, and her counterpart in Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, agreed that solving the challenges facing the economy required unconventional tactics.

Adeosun, while disclosing that there remained a huge number of unbanked Nigerians whose contributions to the economy are hardly captured, said the government must devise ways to bring them into the financial mainstream.

She also hinted that based on the current realities, the Federal Government would have to borrow more to meet its infrastructural obligation.

Enelamah emphasised the need for both monetary and fiscal authorities to ensure the return of business, market and investor confidence, as well as policy integrity, to improve on the ease of doing business in Nigeria.

In her presentation entitled: “The Macroeconomic Tri-lemma and Monetary Policy in Nigeria,” the Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Central of Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Sarah Alade, said the onus of achieving the low interest and exchange rates, as well as low inflation should not entirely be the function of the monetary authority.

She said the task therefore, necessitated the collaboration with fiscal authorities, as there was need for deliberate policies to ensure stability and engender growth in the economy.

Mining sector can get Nigeria out of recession, says Fayemi

With proper attention and planning, the mining industry is capable of taking the country out of recession.

Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, who spoke in Abeokuta at the weekend, regretted that despite the country’s abundant mineral resources, Nigeria cannot be said to be a mining nation.

“We are a mineral nation, but we are not a mining nation. In the 70s, mining contributed to 50 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) so what went wrong? “ The government was determined to reverse the situation, Fayemi affirmed.

At the town hall meeting were representatives of small-scale miners, Lafarge Nigeria Plc. and Dangote Group of Companies both of which own cement factories in the state.

The minister said, with the dwindling revenue from oil, exploitation of the country’s abundant mineral resources remained a major source of the country’s income.

Fayemi explained that mining is on the exclusive list, hence he frowned at what he described as the “tension” between many states and the Federal government over taxation on the mining industries.

He identified multiple taxation by the Federal and state governments, lack of geological data, proliferation of illegal miners among others as challenges facing the sector.

To this end, Fayemi revealed that auditors from states, where mining is taking place, would meet with officials of the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission on the adoption of modalities on the percentage of derivation to be paid to such states.

The minister also sought for tariff and tax incentives for operators in the steel sector to encourage private participation in the sector and subsequently contribute to the industrialization agenda of the present government at the centre.

He maintained that the sector would not witness any major development unless the moribund Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited is revived.

The State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, advocated for a synergy between the Federal and state governments to improve productivity in the mining sector.

Apart from the environmental hazards, Amosun said businessmen and women in the mining sector have little or no respect for the host communities and the state.
The Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, disclosed that last year, Nigeria produced 43,495,423.12 tons of solid minerals, out of which Ogun produced 16,376,547.50 (37.65per cent), the highest.

Economy: CBN, Fiscal Authorities Meet in Abuja

Desirous of monetary and fiscal collaboration in order to pull the Nigerian economy of the current crunch, economic management leaders from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Ministries of Finance, Budget and National Planning as well as Trade and Investment, over the weekend, gathered in Abuja to harmonize their policy perspectives.

Speaking at the opening of the two-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) retreat at the CBN Corporate Headquarters in Abuja at the weekend, with the theme: “Pathway to Price Stability Conducive to Economic Growth,” the apex Bank Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, reiterated the need for the country’s monetary and fiscal authorities to collaborate and harmonize standpoints so as to develop the economy rapidly.

Mr. Emefiele, who also chairs the Monetary Policy Committee, said the MPC Retreat, which for the first time had in attendance a large representation of the fiscal authorities, was coming at a period when the country faced serious economic challenges. He added that finding a sustainable solution required a broadened participation of colleagues from the fiscal side.

He said that the retreat, as a brainstorming session, would provide perspectives on certain Monetary Policy Committee decisions. He said it would also close the gap on the coordination between monetary and fiscal authorities to chart a common course and take decisions to develop the economy.

In his remarks at the brainstorming session, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, said both the monetary and fiscal Authorities had no choice but to work together to guarantee the country’s economic growth. He posited that the pathway to lower interest rate was to ensure monetary and fiscal authorities collaboration with the private sector.

Also speaking, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, and her Industry, Trade and Investment counterpart, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah both agreed that solving challenges facing the Nigerian economy required unconventional tactics.

Adeosun, while disclosing that there remained a huge number of unbanked Nigerians whose contributions to the economy are hardly captured, said the government must devise ways to bring them into the financial mainstream. She also hinted that, based on the current realities, the Federal Government would have to borrow more to meet its infrastructural obligation.

On his part, Dr. Enelamah emphasized the need for both monetary and fiscal authorities to ensure business, market and investor confidence, as well as policy integrity, in order to improve on the ease of doing business in Nigeria.

In her presentation entitled: “The Macroeconomic Trilemma and Monetary Policy in Nigeria,” the Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Central of Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. (Mrs.) Sarah Alade said the onus of achieving the trilemma of low interest and exchange rates as well as low inflation should not entirely be the function of the monetary authority. Rather, she said it therefore necessitated the collaboration with fiscal authorities.

According to her, there was need for deliberate policies to ensure stability and engender growth in the economy.

Source: thebreakingtime

Rising Unemployment is Hinged on Non-Teaching of Science Practicals

Nigeria’s economic woes and rising unemployment is a result of a faulty educational system, arising from a lack of practical teaching of science-based subjects in institutions, the Federal Ministry Education has said.

The Deputy Director, Science Education, Federal Ministry of Education, Mrs Grace Takerhi, made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos.

Takerhi spoke with NAN at the 20th National Junior Engineers, Technicians and Scientists (JETS) competition in one of the oldest schools in Lagos, CMS Grammar School, Bariga.

She said that the only way to stem the rising unemployment was practical teaching of science-based subjects.

NAN reports that the 20th edition of the JETS Competition got underway on Tuesday with students from across the country displaying their talents.

The theme of the competition is “Enhancing Food Security through Science and Technology Application’’.

Reflecting on the promotion of technical studies to enhance national wealth and economic recovery, Takerhi said that only qualitative teaching with practical experience could create self-employment and entrepreneurship.

“If we look at our educational system and the attendant rising unemployment, we will see that there is a convergence and that is the lack of practical teaching for science-based courses in our institutions.

“If we also look at what is happening, graduates from science-based courses are looking for jobs in Federal Ministry of Education. What is the relevance of their courses to where they are seeking careers?

“If the institutions are well equipped for practical teachings, the students will understand their courses and will know how to make use of the courses to employ themselves rather than looking for employments.

“Nigeria needs to bridge the disconnect between classroom teachings and practical teachings and meet the real life situation on ground. Sciences are meant to solve societal problems not adding to it,’’ she said.

Takerhi said that the problem of lack of practical had also been compounded by the lack of placements for Industrial Training Attachment for the students in science-related courses.

“Right now, we are having a lot of challenges when our students apply for placement for their industrial attachments which is one of the basics of practical teaching in scientific applications.

“Many of these students are roaming about the streets looking for where to have the needed experience with no company to absorb them. Yet they need this experience and if they don’t get it how will they learn?

“We need collaborative effort of government and the organised private sector in this regard to work out modalities that will make it compulsory and easier for the students to get placement for attachments.

“Private organisations should not reject those students or else our educational system will continued to be in the doldrums,’’ she said.

Takerhi said that the specialised schools for technical education should be well funded to enhance the practical learning of vocational studies.

“Our technical institutions need a lot of improvements so as to face the practical teachings of vocational studies. The names are just there, but they don’t have enough materials for practicals.

“Facilities such as well-equipped laboratories, technical workshops and vocational training equipment must be provided. What this translates to is that there should be more budgetary allocation to technical schools.

“We need to fight education tourism by providing enough funding.

“There is an increase in enrollment of students in science-based courses now so we need to also play our part in ensuring that we provide the funds.

“The only way this nation can attain the highest height in wealth creation is through technical education and vocational studies and we need to expand our frontiers in supplying enough funds,’’ she said

NAN reports that the participants in the JETS competition are students from primary and secondary schools from across the country.

They are expected to come up with local inventions that could help to solve some societal engineering and scientific problems under the supervision of their teachers.

The competition has about 500 students and JETS Coordinators from the states.

This year’s edition recorded a huge success as students developed inventions that could stand the test of time. All the 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had stands to display the ingenuity of the junior engineers and scientists.

Source: Thenationonline