Firm Advocates Proper Implementation of Economic Recovery Plan

• Firm Advocates Proper Implementation of Economic Recovery Plan

A non-bank financial institution, CardinalStone has said unless the Federal Government ensured proper implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), projected goals may remain elusive.

The firm however lauded the move, describing it as an initiative that would allow market forces to reign and return the country to growth path.

The Federal Government early in the month launched an ambitious Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), a medium term plan for 2017–2020, meant to restore economic growth while leveraging the ingenuity and resilience of the Nigerian people. However, the plan has attracted a lot of scepticisms with regard to actual implementation and achieving set goals, which the government insists it is committed to.

One of the Founding Partners of the company, Muhammed Garuba, said: “The economic plan is transformational and would cause a turnaround. But proper implementation is key to the realisation of the objectives of the plan.”
Garuba, who spoke at the organisation’s first Annual General Meeting (AGM) cocktail in Lagos, lamented the decline in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country, noting that the political atmosphere combined with the shortfall in oil prices and the high inflation rates were affecting the inflow.

“It is good that government wants market forces to rain with the new economic recovery plan. This will allow people to make progress. One of the problems we have had is that the government has not been communicating appropriately,” another Founding Partner, Femi Ogunjimi added.

In its assessment of the new economic plan, CardinalStone noted that whilst no guidance was provided regarding the outlook for the Naira over the lifespan of the ERGP, the policy seeks to engender a more reflective exchange rate regime through policies that would remove uncertainties and restore investors’ confidence in the market.

It further noted that there were no specifics on the measures that would be adopted to improve foreign exchange (FX) liquidity and narrow the spread between the interbank and parallel market rates.

Speaking about investment in Nigeria, Ogunjimi said there are fundamental issues that must be resolved to boost FDI into the country.

“It is good for investors to think about their investments on a long term basis and not short term. Solving some of the issues including power and generally the ease of doing business will improve inflow of FDI into the country. Though it may be rough but it will pay off on a long term,” he concluded.