Recession: NLC Urges FG To Set Up Economic Blueprint

Agency report

The Nigeria Labour Congress has called on the Federal Government to put in place coherent economic blueprint to tackle recession in the 2017 budget.

The NLC Chief Economist Dr Peter Ozo-Eson, who made the call in an interview with NAN, also advised against delay in the preparation of the budget.

“Part of the problem we see however is in articulating the budget. We need to have an economic blueprint to tackle the recession.

“We have not seen this. Therefore, the budget is an instrument that should be used to actualise such a blueprint.

Ozo-Eson, who is also NLC General Secretary, said for government to have a coherent blueprint, it must engage all segments of the society, both private sector, small scale producers, labour, among others.

“Once you have that in place the budget then becomes an instrument of implementing such a blueprint.

“I think that not putting blueprint in place and talking of budget, it will be a mismatch and the policy will not be coherent.

He further noted that due to the country’s economic turndown, many state governors are owing salaries while some are still looking for ways to slash salaries.

According to him, cutting of salaries cannot be the way out of the recession.

“So we need to stimulate aggregate demand in order to get out of the present recession.

“If you pay like the current minimum wage, which is clearly not a living wage, then people are not going to demand goods and services.

“If they are not able to demand for goods and services, then the few manufactures that we still have are going to find that their goods are not being bought.

Ozo-Eson called on government to have general equilibrium approach in coming out with the 2017 budget.