Nigeria’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria has warned that the country’s economy could slip into recession in 2016. The monetary policy committee warned that the Federal Government must take proactive steps to prevent such recession from coming to pass.
The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele while addressing journalists shortly after the two-day meeting of the committee held at the CBN headquarters in Abuja noted that the country’s economy has remained weak due to factors such as the slow growth of the country’s Gross Domestic Product in the second quarter of the year.
Emefiele also revealed that the committee noticed that the impact of non-payment of salaries at the state and local government levels led reduction in consumer demand.
The governor of the apex bank expressed concern that liquidity withdrawals following the implementation of the Treasury Single Account and the elongation of the tenure of state governments and Oil/gas sector loans could worsen worsen the liquidity conditions of banks and affect economic growth unless actions are taken to stem the tide.