By The minister of finance, budget and national planning, Zainab Ahmed has said Nigeria’s economy will exit recession, latest by the first quarter of 2021.
Recall the Nigerian economy has entered into its second recession in five years, according to official figures from the National Bureau of Statistics.
The minister made this known at the 26th edition of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) on Monday.
Ahmed blamed the recession on the COVID-19 pandemic and reduced oil demand which resulted in low crude oil prices.
According to the minister, “Let me remind us that before the impact of COVID-19, the Nigerian economy was experiencing sustained growth, which had been improving quarter by quarter until the second quarter of 2020 when the impact of the COVID-19 was felt.”
She further stated that Nigeria’s economy has done better than a number of other economies in terms of the record of a negative growth.
“Nigeria is not alone in this, but I will say that Nigeria has outperformed all of these economies in terms of the record of a negative growth.
“While the economy has entered into recession in the third quarter, the trend of the growth suggests that this will be a short-lived recession, and indeed by the fourth or, at worst, the first quarter of 2021, the country will exit recession.”
“Our expectation of a quick exit, which will be historically fast, is anchored on the several complementary fiscal, real sector and monetary interventions that have been proactively introduced by government to forestall a far worse decline of the economy and alleviate the negative consequences of the pandemic,” she added.
