Nigeria’s economy still weak, says Sanusi

THE Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has expressed concern on the state of economy.

THE Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has expressed  concern on the state of economy. 

He said the economy is still facing some challenges despite the robust economic growth being recorded by the country. 

He spoke at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where he presented a paper entitled: The global crisis and the Nigerian economy: The Central Bank of Nigeria responses. 

Sanusi, who was a guest lecturer, said the challenges in the  economy  have slowed the transmission of such growth indices to higher employment opportunities and better standard of living for the people. 

In a statement, he said: “Major bottlenecks and supply-side constraints, including enabling legal framework” have “slowed the responsiveness of some CBN reform measures.”    

 The apex bank boss  had told the gathering that “the link between major growth drivers, particularly agriculture and manufacturing, continue to be weak and the required costs of the expected infrastructural needs of the economy are daunting and remained a major challenge to financial sector.

 He  noted that “the need for a low-cost long-term infrastructure financing requires more than the CBN alone can tackle”.   

Sanusi, however, offered hope, saying: “substantial progress has been made and significant public confidence has been restored to the banking sector with the reform measures adopted by the bank”.

He reiterated: “While the primary goal of a central bank should be price stability, in the context of developing economies, the central bank should also emphasise on its development roles in order to support positive economic transformation and rapid growth”.

 The lecture series, according to the statement, have treated  contemporary economic issues of global concern, with prominent academic specialists and policy makers speaking before audiences of LSE staff and students as well as interested members of the public, including journalists, bankers, businessmen, and representatives of various governments, multi lateral institutions, and non-governmental organisations.