Nigerian economy no longer in recession, but depression-Emeka Okereke (ECCIMA)

The Buhari led government has been criticised by the Enugu State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, ECCIMA in the manner in which the economy is being treated, uncovering how Nigeria has as of now dove into depression as opposed to the cases of recession being claimed by the government.

Taking note of that the predominant circumstance where families can no more manage the cost of one square meal is a reasonable pointer that the economy is depressed, ECCIMA expressed that unless the Federal Government rapidly readjusts its economic team, individuals' method for survival might be enormously decreased.

This was revealed by the Director General, ECCIMA, Mr. Emeka Okereke, who called attention to that the south-east geopolitical zone was the most exceedingly awful hit by the condition of the economy. He construct his judgment in light of the wretched foundation in the district which has disabled exchange and trade that structures the bedrock of the locales' economy.

As indicated by him, “The Federal Government needs to quickly rejig its economic team if it had one. It is clear that the present economic team does not have a solution to mitigate the recession. There are a good number of Nigerians who can proffer solution to the prevailing problems.

“The president needs to draw experts that will advise him and he should be prepared to heed these pieces of advice to enable us come out of the woods. The buck stops at the President’s table.

“Most Nigerians now are talking of survival not even investing in the productive sector especially in the Small Medium Enterprises, SMEs. People are talking of how to feed. Nobody is talking of investment because the cash flow is not there. The purchasing power has not risen while inflation has ripped off all savings you have made. People are eating their savings now because income is stagnant.

“All the entire economic indicators are showing red. That is why we have gone into depression. People are suffering badly. Most families now cannot afford one square meal a day. These are facts. It is not criticism. Those that are close to the president should tell him the detrimental nature of Nigeria’s survival at this period.

“The economy needs to be stimulated. The economic space has shrank beyond imagination. There is nothing that is happening at the economy. The 2016 budget has witnessed a poor implementation and the year has elapsed. Government needs to spend on critical infrastructure and on recurrent expenditure so that consumption power of the people will improve. For now, everything is stagnant.

On how the recession has influenced the South-east, Okereke stressed that: “The cost of living in the south-east region has soared to an all time high, from food stuff to transportation among other variables. The economy of the south-east for now is bedrocked on trade. If you go to our ports now, I’m sure you have heard that most shipping companies are closing shops. Majority of Nigerians who import goods come from south-east. So, south-east economy has been grounded as a result. It is noticeable when you go to the markets.

“South-east economy which is dependent on commercial activities, trade is at a standstill. You won’t talk of the productive sector or industry because the cost of importing raw materials is now unbearable. The region is worse off because supporting infrastructure like roads, railway, and airport among others are in a very bad shape.”