Nigeria economy grows 1.87 per cent amid oil price rise, coronavirus pandemic - NBS
- Nigeria's economy grew by 1.87% in the first quarter of 2020 amid rising oil prices and slow growth caused by coronavirus globally
- But the NBS points out that the figure was much lower in comparisons with those realized in 2019
- Reports from the likes of Bloomberg had predicted an even much lower figure in their own survey
Despite serious bashing from the crash of global oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic that is wreaking havoc across the world, Nigeria's economy grew by 1.87%.
Legit.ng gathered that the growth was lower than 2.27% in Q4 of 2019 and 2.10% in Q1 of 2019, it was a turn from the reports in some financial quarters that the country's economy would not witness that much expansion.
Bloomberg admitted this in its report on Nigeria's economy on Monday, May 25, noting that its own forecast was an average growth of 0.8%.
"Nigerian economic growth beat estimates in the first quarter as oil production rose to the highest in at least four years."
Speaking on the quarter-on-quarter comparison earlier pointed out, the report quoted the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) as saying the slowdown reflects “the earliest effects of the disruption, particularly on the non-oil economy,”
NBS's submission seemed to confirm the words of finance minister, Zainab Ahmed, who said Nigeria’s economy will go into a recession based on a recent assessment by the statistics office.
Ahmed told journalists shortly after the national economic council meeting in Abuja on Thursday, May 21, that the current data shows that the economy will go into a recession at an average of -4.4 %.
Ahmed said the government was already trying to reduce the impact of the recession on Nigerians.
“The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has made an assessment. So, it is the NBS assessment that Nigeria will go into a recession measuring at an average of -4.4%," Ahmed said.
Similarly, one of the top rating agency in the world, Fitch Ratings downgraded Nigeria's credit rating to B from B+ while also assigning a negative outlook.
According to the international agency, the recent slump in oil prices and the pandemic shock will put pressure on Nigeria's external finances.
On its part, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also projected negative growth for the Nigerian economy following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The IMF stated that the Nigerian economy will face a negative growth of -3.4%, indicating a recession in the country.
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Source: Legit.ng
