Nigeria already leaving recession,says ex-CBN deputy gov

Dr. Obadiah Mailafia former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, has said that Nigeria is already flying out of recession, based on the prediction of international organisations and the current economic outlook. Mailafia on Thursday told the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja that some international organisations had projected the country would likely come out of recession by the end of the year. He noted that the International Monetary Fund had said the country might be out of recession as growth had gone back to 0.8 per cent toward the end of the year. He said, “In 2016, it was negative growth, -1.8 per cent. But the IMF and World Bank are saying growth is likely going to be 0.8 per cent; still that is positive. “It is positive even if it is small, it shows that we are no longer regressing; we are registering some positive growth. We hope that by the year end, the growth will be more meaningful and by subsequent year, we would have been out of recession.’’ The former CBN deputy governor, however urged the Federal Government to focus on provision of employment for the citizens, especially the youths. According to him, Nigeria is moving out of recession but the people are still suffering and majority of young people don’t have jobs. “The unemployment figures are frightened and it is a time bomb. We have to be able to create job opportunities for our young people. Otherwise, they are going to use the energy they have in a destructive manner and that is not good enough.’’Mailafia mentioned