By Peter Egwuatu

Stakeholders in both the Nigerian capital and money markets have called on the Federal Government to quickly act by using fiscal and monetary policies to reflate the economy.

Speaking at the triennial delegates’ conference of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, ISAN in Lagos, Mr. Arnold Ekpe, former Group Managing Director of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, said “The Federal Government needs to act quickly to make the economy vibrant.

Given the economic recession the country is into, Government needs to pump money into the economy and apply the mix of fiscal and monetary policies to reflate the economy.  The prices of commodities are rising with low income and rising unemployment, hence the need to increase expenditure and provide the needed infrastructure that will spur growth.”

Continuing, he said “A recession has to be managed coherently.  Nigeria is not the first to be in this kind of recession. We are having stagflation because prices of things are going up and not coming down. Even, Government can go ahead to print money to attract growth.

We have to spend more on infrastructure to ensure that businesses strive and do not collapse any longer.  The federal government should spend on infrastructure and other viable projects to bring down interest rate so that manufacturers can get cheaper fund to expand the level of output and increase employment.

He commended the National Coordinator of ISAN, Sir Sunny Nwosu for his activism in the Nigerian capital market which has impacted to make listed companies to imbibe good corporate governance.