The Nigerian Economic Society (NES) has described as false the media report (not Daily Trust) credited to it to have said the “Nigerian economy unstable, directionless under Buhari.”
Briefing journalists in Abuja, Thursday, the NES President, Prof. Sarah Olanrewaju Anyanwu, said the NES as a body doesn’t believe in confrontational tactics but would rather engage and advise the President or the Federal Government as it were.
She said the report, celebrated on the front cover of a national daily is false as the NES never made such a statement.
“Consequently, the NIGERIAN ECONOMIC SOCIETY hereby rejects and disclaims the PUNCH news report titled, ‘Nigerian Economy Unstable, Directionless under Buhari – Says Economic Society’ in its entirety, and dissociates itself from both the headline and its contents.”
She stated that NES President presentation to Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe on 6th October, 2020 at NASS was very clear and her oral addition did not include what was published.
She expressed “disgust with the attributions made to” her. “I did not grant any interview to the Punch or any other Newspaper Editor or Reporter and I am at a total loss as to the source of the erroneous information attributed to me and my Team” she stated.
According to her what she said was that “we need more Economists in various Teams to promote economic growth and development to avoid Nigeria going into recession”, adding that the current recession is global because of COVID-19 pandemic.”
The NES further stated that “the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) is a Medium Term Plan for 2017 – 2020. The ERGP that was put in place will expire by December 2020 and that NES is represented in the Central Working Group of the ongoing Medium Term Development Plan (MTDP).
However, NES as a Professional Body is not represented in the Presidential Economic Advisory Council as was the case with the Former National Economic Management Team (NEMT). This is important as this would engender wider consultations with the professionals for inputs on economic policy formulations since all hands must be on deck to avert the economy going into recession,” she stated.
She also said she didn’t submit that a NES Bill is already in the National Assembly as reported.
According to her, she called “for the assistance of the Minority Leader to consider and pass the NES Bill when it is finally submitted to the NASS, adding that the Bill is in the draft form and currently being worked on. She presented a draft copy of the Bill to the Distinguished Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe. The media men did not take anything from the written presentation which the President gave the Senate Minority Leader a copy but only misquoted the oral presentation she had made.”
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