COVID-19 caused Nigeria's recession, says President Buhari
- President Buhari has identified the cause of Nigeria's latest economic recession
- The Nigerian leader said the coronavirus pandemic is what plunged the nation into the current economic crisis
- The president, however, proceeded to identify some measures that will pull Nigeria out of recession as soon as possible
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President Muhammadu Buhari has revealed that Nigeria's current recession was caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Guardian reports that the president made this known on Monday, November 23, at the 26th Nigerian Economic Summit with the theme: “Building Partnerships for Resilience’’.
Legit.ng gathers that the president was represented by his deputy, Vice President Yemi Osinabajo, at the event which was organised jointly by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning.
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President Buhari said the downturn caused by the pandemic included lockdowns, disruption in global supply chains, business failures and rising unemployment.
According to him, the economy only began to recover when commercial activities resumed after the lockdown was lifted.
He said the government had earlier introduced the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.
The pathway out of recession
To get the country out of the recession, President Buhari said there is the need to quicken the implementation of the ESP.
He, however, noted that all the programmes in the ESP are reliant on the private sector playing a key role in creating and conserving jobs and the production and delivery of services in agriculture, housing, solar power and digital technologies.
He, therefore, called on the private sector stakeholders to cooperate with his administration.
The Nigerian president added that an improvement in global economic conditions, including the restoration of global supply chains and resumption of exports and remittances, will facilitate quick recovery from the recession.
President Buhari also urged the private sector enterprises, in the spirit of partnership, to pay their due taxes.
In his remarks, Asue Ighodalo, the chairman of the NESG said the summit was about building partnerships as sectors could no longer succeed independently.
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Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, budget, and national development, said Nigeria's current recession will be short-lived.
The finance minister stated that the Nigerian government is working towards reversing the declining trend in the country’s economy.
She also reiterated the economy would be restored in the path of sustainable inclusive growth in no time with the implementation of the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan.
Meanwhile, Nigeria is not the only country that is currently experiencing a recession. Countries such as the United States, Canada, and South Africa are also facing similar challenges as the effects of COVID-19 bite harder on the global economy.
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Source: Legit.ng
