The Federal Government of Nigeria has stated that the latest recession in Nigeria will be short-lived, as it expects Nigeria to return to positive growth soon unlike during the 2016 recession.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, in a press briefing with newsmen in Lagos, on Monday.
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“The latest recession in Nigeria will be short-lived, and Nigeria will return to positive growth soon, unlike the 2016 recession which lasted five quarters.
“This is because of several complementary fiscal, real sector and monetary interventions proactively introduced by the government to forestall a far worse decline of the economy and alleviate the negative consequences of the pandemic,” he added.
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Lai Mohammed added that Nigeria recorded positive economic developments in 2020, and added that it seemed “to have been overshadowed by the country’s economic recession.”
He revealed that Nigeria entered a recession at the end of the third quarter (Q3), after the country’s Gross Domestic Product declined for the second consecutive quarter in 2020 (Q2 and Q3).
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He added that the pandemic was the reason for Nigeria’s recession alongside many other nations.
“The main reason for this is the Covid-19 pandemic. Nigeria is not alone. Dozens of countries, including economic giants like the US, UK and Canada, have entered recession, of course due to the global pandemic. Others include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Russia and Spain.”
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Mohammed also added that the recession had “masked postitive economic development,” citing the National Bureau of Statistics.
“The decline of -3.62% in Q3 is much smaller than the -6.10% recorded in Q2. The economic conditions are actually improving, with 17 activities recording positive real growth in the third quarter, compared to 13 in Q2,” he said.
Lai Mohammed stated that 36 of 46 economic activities did better in the third quarter of 2020 than in the second quarter of the same year.
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What you should know: Nairametrics reported in November 2020 that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in real terms declined by -3.62% (year-on-year) in Q3 2020, thereby marking a full-blown recession and second consecutive contraction from -6.10% recorded in the previous quarter (Q2 2020).