Finance Mummy (Iweala) prophesies "Prepare for economic recession"

The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Wednesday alerted members of the Federal Executive Council to a possible economic recession based on happenings in the global economy.

She, therefore, warned them to shun profligacy in the management of the nation’s resources.

The Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of the weekly FEC meeting.

He was joined at the briefing by his Interior and Health counterparts, Mr. Abba Moro and Prof. Onyebuchi Chuwku, respectively.

Maku said Okonjo-Iweala spoke of the noticeable downward slide in the price of oil in the international market and called for caution in the management of the nation’s resources in case of a recession.

He, however, quoted the minister as assuring FEC that her ministry was preparing well towards mitigating the likely effects in case the crisis got deeper.

Maku said, “The Minister of Finance briefed the Council about the global economy environment and generally, Council was told that there were some difficult moments out there in the international economy, particularly because of the crises in Greece and Spain.

“She said the crises had begun to impact on the global economy and one of the things we were informed by the minister was that we noticed some downward slide in oil prices in recent weeks. The Minister of Finance told us to buckle up and ensure proper management of available resources to prepare Nigeria in case there is any recession.”

He added, “We are not expecting one; you know that during the last financial meltdown, which crippled most developed economies with negative impacts on developing countries, Nigeria was able to weather through because we were prepared.

“Right now, the Ministry of Finance is preparing just in case the crisis goes a bit deeper, Nigeria should be positioned to weather the storm and coast safely. Presently, we have no problem in terms of our finance management.”

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