Nigeria’s Growth Affected By Persistent Recession

President Buhari explained that the persistent recession in Nigeria in the last four years has affected the growth of the Nigerian economy. This was stated while speaking during the 2021 budget review  in conjunction with the national assembly.

According to the world bank the Nigerian economy is expected to grow by 1.8% in 2021, though there is high uncertainty about the outlook. The recovery would be driven by rise in oil exports and in domestic demand. However, Nigeria’s recovery is expected to underperform those of other oil producers, and an unexpected shock to oil prices could threaten the modest growth projected.

Moreover, high inflation and high unemployment exacerbate macroeconomic risks, and activity in the tertiary sector will not fully normalize unless COVID-19 is contained. By the end of 2021, Nigeria’s GDP is likely to approach its 2010 level, thus reversing a full decade of economic growth. GDP per capita is projected to continue declining because the economy is forecast to grow more slowly than the population.

In 2020 the Nigerian economy shrank by 1.8%, its deepest decline since 1983. The COVID-19 crisis drove the economic slowdown; the external context was marked by capital outflows, intensified risk aversion, low oil prices, and shrinking foreign remittances.

 Buhari noted that the production deficit was  initiated by the covid 19 pandemic and the GDP report released a few months ago stated that oil revenue  performance was lower than target however non oil revenue grew by 6.9%