The minister of finance, budget and national planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed has described as “shocking” Monday’s crash in oil price.
The oil price had crashed to $33.15 per barrel, a decline of nearly 20 per cent due to the effect of the coronavirus, a highly contagious pneumonia-like respiratory illness.
Speaking at ‘Going for Growth 2.0’ consultative round table meeting organised by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Abuja on Wednesday, the minister said the development was a wakeup call.
She advised the government to look beyond oil saying the “best time was now.”
“We should not panic, we shouldn’t allow speculation, there is need to put our hands together with all major stakeholders to wither this storm.
“We must take opportunities this impact of coronavirus has provided for us. We are working to strengthen micro-economy and we are also making moves to provide fiscal incentives for small and medium enterprises to grow.
“The president has formed a team to review the impact of this crash in oil price on the budget.
“We are also working seriously to raise revenue from non-oil sector and in spite of the dwindling revenue, increased funding to critical sectors is important.
“The government is as well making effort to enhance the Ease of Doing Business and will soon inaugurate E-Customs project to help facilitate trade,’’ she said.
The minister said plans were ongoing to set up a national saving committee to design a national saving policy.
She said she was looking forward to the outcome of the meeting as the input would form the advice that would be given to the president in finding solutions for the country to come out stronger economically.
With NAN report
