Buhari to seek parliamentary approval for temporary emergency powers to revive Nigeria’s economy

As Nigeria slips towards recession – Buhari seeks to reverse economic woes

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari will seek parliamentary approval that will allow him to make “emergency” decisions to revive the flagging economy for the period of one year, a government source said on Monday.

Africa’s biggest economy contracted in the first quarter and government officials have said recession is likely as vital oil revenues have crashed due to low crude prices. Gross domestic product (GDP) data for the second quarter is due this week.

The Buhari administration has put together a bill titled “Emergency Economic Stabilization” giving the president extra powers such as amending laws which will be submitted to parliament, the source said.

Buhari is seeking to accelerate plans to improve the investment climate, the source said. The bill would allow him for example to ease visa restrictions for investors and give them incentives, plans that have been delayed.

In June, the Central Bank of Nigeria floated the naira, allowing the currency to devalue by around 40 percent to attract investment and ease hard currency shortages.

On Friday, Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun said Nigeria is to allocate 60 billion naira (US$182 million) more spending on capital projects as part of the 2016 budget, coming on top of 400 billion (US$1.213 billio) already spent.

But critics of Buhari say that his administration has not done enough to end Nigeria’s worst economic crisis for decades. Tens of thousands of workers have been laid off, while companies across sectors say they cannot get enough hard currency to import spare parts or raw materials.

There was no immediate reaction from the two chambers of parliament which is currently in recess.

Source: Reuters