The Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Company (FDC) Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, has said that 2022 started on a “good note” and looks likely to be a better year for Nigeria’s economy compared with 2021.
He stated this during his presentation at the “Nigeria Economic Outlook” organised by First Bank of Nigeria Limited, yesterday. Rewane, who was the keynote speaker at the event, which had as its theme: “A rearview look at 2021, lessons learnt – Outlook 2022,” particularly referred to the Federal Government’s launch of the National Development Plan 2021-2025, President Muhammadu Buhari’s reported ordering of an audit of the economy under his tenure, his appointment of Dr Doyin Salami as Chief Economic Adviser as well as government’s lifting of the suspension on Twitter.
He said: “The appointment of a Chief Economic Adviser is very important; better late than never. The lifting of the suspension on Twitter means accountability (and) transparency.” The FDC boss disclosed that a recent poll he conducted shows that the bulk of the Nigerian people want a leadership that would serve them. Reviewing the performance of the economy in 2021, he said that while the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) was a success, “given the rebound in GDP growth, the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) was, however, not a success.” He also noted that while the country’s debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio is still within the acceptable limit, attention had to be focused on how government is deploying the borrowed funds.
He warned that the Chinese are not the most “charitable lenders,” adding that government should ensure that it does not default on loans it took from the Asian country. On prospects for the economy in 2022, Rewane said that although the price of oil (the commodity that accounts for over 70 per cent of Nigeria’s forex earnings) is currently above $80 per barrel, the United States in its bid to tackle its economic challenges could take measures that could lead to oil prices dropping to about $60 this year.
