President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday directed a
repositioning of the economy, starting with a review of 2020 budget to reflect
realities in oil sector, and prioritizing health sector infrastructure to
respond to the threats posed by Coronavirus.
Buhari gave the directive after the 2nd Regular Meeting of
the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), held at the Presidential
Villa, Abuja and was contained in a statement signed and sent by
its spokesperson, Garba Shehu.
The president recommended securitization of government debt,
design and institutionalization of a revenue stabilization program and the
imperative of cutting the cost of governance at all levels.
Buhari agreed with the Advisory Council on the need to
prepare the country to take the necessary tough economic decisions, including
embark on a national agenda of stakeholder mobilization – bringing the National
Assembly, government organs, private sector and civil society together around a
programme to respond to the major challenges confronting the nation.
Highlighting immediate and short-term measures to consider
and implement in order to mitigate any adverse economic effects, the meeting
reviewed the COVID-19 pandemic and its potential economic spill-over effects on
the global and Nigerian economy.
The meeting with the Advisory Council reviewed the state of
the Nigerian economy and noted its continued fragility and vulnerability to
external shocks in spite of recent gains in output growth.
It also noted, with concern, the changing economic
fundamentals – as manifested in a renewed cycle of rising prices and weaknesses
in the external sector.
The meeting also considered indirect effect that would come
through the impact of the pandemic on Nigeria’s other trading partners and the
global economy, with implications of global recession that could slow down
Nigeria’s fragile growth and trigger exchange rate re-alignment.
Nigerian had placed a travel restriction on some countries,
following the outbreak of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Several cases of the disease had been recorded since its
first outbreak in Nigeria.
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