Nigerian Finance Minister - Economy at Critical Juncture

Yesterday at the inauguration of the National Economic Management Team (NEMT) in Abuja, the Minister for Finance admitted that the Nigerian economy was at a critical juncture as the the global economic slowdown has brought about a sharp drop in the market capitalisation on the Nigerian Stock Exchange; reduced budgetary revenues; falling external reserves and marked Naira depreciation.

This should hardly surprising as many economic commentors, including myself raised the issue last week on how the Nigerians should brace themselves for tough times ahead.

The admission is a step in the right direction but it will be more interesting to see what solutions the new team comes up with to salvage the economy and how quickly they come with the goods. Even the most optimistic of economists do not believe that the global economy will rebound this year, and even if it does, most are expceting an almost flatline growth in the next few years. This will ultimately affect the demand for oil, Nigeria's chief earner.

Hopefully the team will focus on reducing the country's dependence on oil receipts and come up with viable ways to diversify the economy.