Finance Min, Zainab Ahmed, Reveals Impact Of Lockdown, Social Distancing On Nigeria's Economy

Nigeria's economy has been bleeding since March 2020, with revenue declining left, right, and center. The revenue sources of Nigeria have dwindled in the last five months as most sectors came to a standstill upon the spread of coronavirus, and this has been threatening to shut down the economy.

According to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, the country's economy has been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of 2020, and the negative impact will run into the third quarter and second half of 2020, Ahmed said.

AllNews learnt that projected revenue in the first half declined by 65 per cent, while foreign exchange inflows dwindled as well in response to the pandemic which also affected global economy. According to Ahmed, Nigeria has not seen the last of the consequences of the coronavirus.

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“We anticipate that these challenges will continue into the third quarter,” Ahmed said, adding that, “The necessary implementation of a lockdown and social distancing measures led to a near-complete shutdown of economic activities, lay-offs across most sectors, loss of income, and a drop in average household purchasing power.”

Nigeria Lost 40% Of Revenue To COVID-19 Pandemic

AllNews had reported that Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, revealed that Nigeria lost 40 per cent of its revenue to the coronavirus pandemic.

The revelation showed Nigeria's income problem and the current level of Nigeria's revenue which has been severely hit by the virus outbreak and measures taken by the Federal Government to curb it from spreading.

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Osinbajo had explained that "...the inevitable lockdowns resulting in closure of businesses. Our huge informal economy all but crashed and government revenues fell too by over 40 per cent.” Osinbajo said.

Meanwhile, a month ago, Ahmed, stated that the misery of Nigerians will multiply in 2020, as the economy is heading for another recession - making it the third recession under President Muhammadu Buhari. She made this known while disclosing that Nigeria's economy will decline deeper than projected by international agencies.

Nigeria Will Experience Worst Recession

Nigeria is heading for its worst recession under President Buhari, the World Bank revealed in a report titled ‘Nigeria in times of COVID-19: Laying foundations for a strong recovery,’.

The World Bank's projection comes after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and credit rating company, Fitch, projected recession for Nigeria.