Abuja – An economist, Prof. Akpan Ekpo, on Tuesday said that any unnecessary delay in the passage of the 2017 Budget would have adverse consequences on the economy.
Ekpo, who is the Director-General, West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), Central Bank of Nigeria Learning Centre, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the mistake of 2016 should not be repeated in 2017.
He said further that if 80 per cent of the 2017 Budget could be implemented, the economy would recover from recession by the third quarter of the year.
“The outlook for 2017 will contain part of the carry-over from 2016. The economy is in a recession based on three-quarters of negative growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“GDP will grow marginally positive,’’ Ekpo said.
He said the growth forecast from the World Bank was one per cent, while that of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was 0.8 per cent.
“Note that recovering from the recession does not end the structural problems of the country such as infrastructure deficit, particularly power and transportation.
“The rate of unemployment will remain high and inflation will accelerate because of the pass-through effect from speculative activities in the foreign exchange market.
“Thereafter, the government’s proposed plan of economic recovery and growth will enhance growth further, if properly implemented,’’ Ekpo said.
He said it was important that in 2017, the CBN should stabilise the exchange rate and pursue monetary policy that would stimulate growth in the economy.
The CBN-managed exchange rate framework, he said, was appropriate based on the scarcity of foreign exchange.
He said for the outlook in 2017 to be bright, government must direct policies that would change the structure of the economy to that of production and not just mere consumption.
