Recession is a Wake Up Call- Ambode

The economic recession which experts say Nigeria is climbing out of has been described as a wake-up call to rearrange recurrent expenditure and focus more on capital spending.

This was the position of the Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode at the 2017 Biennial Convention of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) that was held in Ikeja.

The theme of the convention is “A Nation in Recession: Whither the Nigerian Media?”

According to Governor Ambode, contrary to the views held by most people, recession is not a crime but a period that calls for government at all levels to readjust.

The Governor sighted an example of the former U.S. President, Barak Obama who took steps a few years ago to save the ailing American economy by providing funds to assist businesses, saying that Nigeria must be ready to take cues from such.

“Recession is not a crime; it’s just a notice to say that you rearrange the way you do your public expenditure. That’s what President Obama did, there was a boom in 2008 and 2009 but he was very bold enough to put public money into General Motors and even the airlines, and that is what is missing in this country.”

“You need to increase the capital expenditure to help companies, to help other people and even help the government to get the system out of recession, that’s the only template that works,” Governor Ambode explained.

Lagos stood for Nigeria
Governor Ambode said the State stood in the gap for Nigeria in the heat of the economic recession, assuring that his administration would continue to show leadership, demonstrate capacity and be relentless in its pursuit of excellence despite the daunting challenges.

He said the current recessionary climate not only taught some hard lessons but presented a new challenge as well as an opportunity to think outside the box to change Nigeria’s story from “business as usual” to “business unusual.”

“The rate of unemployment soared as a result of the economic outlook, lay-offs and shut-down of businesses. The national unemployment rate rose to 13.9 percent in 2016 from 10.4 percent in 2015; while the unemployment rate in Lagos State increased from 18 percent in 2015 to 27 percent in 2016,” he reiterated.

Governor Ambode said what his administration did in the last two years was to commit huge resources to capital projects, premised on the fact that the nation had no choice but to spend its way out of recession and create platforms that would stimulate job creation.

Today, with our GDP at 136 billion US dollars, Lagos is Africa’s fifth largest economy just because we have been prudent and resilient as well as taking on board the useful opinions and analyses that the vibrant media have ceaselessly provided,” the Governor said.

VON