President Muhammadu Buhari’s Economic Management Team (EMT), on Tuesday, held a consultative forum with a team of notable economic and financial experts to battle the economic recession in the country.
The meeting, which was presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, listened to strategies and suggestions on how best to reflate the economy bring it out of recession and promptly restore growth topped the agenda.
The Vice President expressed the President’s determination to continuously consider and adopt policies that would boost business, increase employment and provide succor to the poor and disadvantaged.
Professor Osinbajo said: “we will continue to engage with experts and other stakeholders so we can measure progress of the economic policies that have been put in place. The challenges are many but the opportunities are much greater, we are clearly on the path to building an economy that will create jobs and ensure inclusive growth.”
According to a statement by the senior special assistant to the Vice President on media and publicity, Laolu Akande, the The EMT meets weekly and also holds special consultations with members of the private sector and economic experts from time to time.
He named experts who attended the four-hour long special meeting as Mr. Bismarck Rewane, Mr. Bode Augusto, Professor Akpan Ekpo, Dr. Ayo Teriba and Professor Badayi Sani.
Akande said that issues discussed at the consultative forum include the review of the new foreign exchange regime and its effect on the economy as well as the draft Medium Term Economic Framework for 2017-2019.
“The EMT members and the experts made a plethora of suggestions on how to reflate the economy, especially through massive infrastructural spending with active private sector participation, ensure pro-people economic policies, and increase the supply of dollars to the forex market among other issues. [myad]
