The Nigerian economy has declined by -6.10 per cent in the second quarter of 2020, indicating a significant negative growth. It is the worst in the la
The Nigerian economy has declined by -6.10 per cent in the second quarter of 2020, indicating a significant negative growth. It is the worst in the last 10 years since 2010, comparative analysis has shown. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2020 released on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the latest GDP contraction ended the 3-year trend of low but positive real growth rates recorded since the 2016/2017 recession.
According to a Bloomberg report, with the COVID-19 pandemic, economists had predicted about 4 per cent negative growth for Nigeria. However, the NBS report revealed it was higher than this. This was coming days after a report on the unemployment rate showed 21.7 million Nigerians were unemployed.
The NBS largely attributed the economic contraction to “significantly lower levels of both domestic and international economic activity during the quarter, which resulted from nationwide shutdown efforts aimed at containing the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The apex statistical body in Nigeria said the domestic efforts ranged from initial restrictions of human and vehicular movement implemented in only a few states to a nationwide curfew, bans on domestic and international travel, closure of schools and markets among others, affecting both local and international trade.
“The efforts, led by both the federal and state governments, evolved over the course of the quarter and persisted throughout,” the NBS said in the report.
Although the COVID-19 restrictions have been gradually eased, the effects of the pandemic are still glaring among Nigerians.
Experts have said the crash in economic indices was expected due to the pandemic. An economist, Tope Fasua, said the N2.3 trillion interventions by the federal government to wedge the economy from the impact of COVID-19 was small relative to Nigeria’s N160tn GDP.
