Nigeria needs at least 7.2 trillion naira to avert recession – Chike Obi

Nigeria needs $20 billion, about 7.2 trillion naira to avert economic crisis on the heels of battering from the coronavirus pandemic.

This is according to the former Managing Director of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, Mr. Mustapha Chike-Obi.

Chikeobi was quoted as saying in a Thisday report that the $3.4 billion financial support the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved for Nigeria and the N850 billion approved by the National Assembly as domestic borrowing are not sufficient enough to address Nigeria’s revenue shortfall.

Speaking on the ‘Morning Show,’ of ARISE News Channel, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, the former AMCON boss noted that the banking sector, which is pivotal to economic stability, should be properly managed and allowed to be more profitable with monetary instrument easing.

The former AMCON boss also explained that banks would not accept another AMCON because they would pay the bulk of the current AMCON’s liabilities at the end of the day.

He, however, commended the Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning for securing the financial support from IMF for the country and urged judicious spending in order to facilitate more loans that would be needed.

He said: “We need to compliment the Minister of Finance and her team for arranging this lifeline. It is a loan that is to be paid between three to five years and while it doesn’t come with strings, it does come with strong suggestions as to what should be done with the money and how the money should be spent.

“$3.4 billion sounds like a large amount of money but it is roughly 1-2 per cent of our GDP. It is just a lifeline and it is not enough to solve our economic problems. So, depending on how we use the money and how we are transparent and forward-looking. We are going to need much more money. We are going to need upward of $20 billion from various world agencies and they are watching what we do with this $3.4 billion. And I think that if this $3.4 billion is spent properly, we would be able to get more money down the road.”