The President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr Nike Akande, has predicted that Nigeria will surmount its economic woes and come out of the recession stronger in 2017.
Akande said this on the sidelines of the LCCI 128th Annual General Meeting (AGM) dinner in Lagos.
She said that Nigeria, as the giant of Africa, would not stay too long before bouncing back to its former pride of place among the Commonwealth of Nations.
“LCCI has noted in particular the decline in oil price, the weakening of our currency and the associated challenges this scenario portends.
“I strongly believe that we will bounce back from recession stronger in 2017. The economic recession was caused by our over dependence on oil, but now we have taken the bull by its horns.
“So many campaigns are going on and restructuring on diversification; with all these put in place, we are sure to come back to reckoning among the Commonwealth of Nations.
“The year 2o17 is just a couple of months away but by the end of it, things will be better, I am very optimistic,” she said.
The Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BOI), Mr Waheed Olagunju, said right investment portfolio and diversification would get Nigeria out of recession in short time.
“What we need to do in time of this recession is to diversify our economy and stop paying lip service to it.
“We will need to look at the Mexico model and stop the over reliance on crude oil as the mainstay of revenue for the country. We need other sectors as well.
“We need to encourage more investments because increased investment is one of the ways we can get out of recession. When you invest, it increases production and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increases.
“We can only grow our economy by providing wide range of investment portfolios and also encourage manufacturing which is a key to any economic development,’’ he said. (NAN)