The Federal Government of Nigeria has reassured that the latest economic recession the country went down owing to the impact of COVID-19 will be short-lived. The country officially entered recession at the end of the third quarter (Q3) in 2020 after the country’s Gross Domestic Product declined for the second consecutive quarter in 2020 (Q2 and Q3).

The country in 2020 recorded a decline in the GDP in real value by minus (-) 3.62% (year-on-year) in the third quarter (Q3) of 2020. Marking the economy in a full-blown recession while second straight contraction from minus (-) 6.10% recorded in the second (Q2) quarter, it reported.

The country has recorded positive economic growths in the year 2020, which is likely "to have been overshadowed by the country's economic recession".

 Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture mentioned that the Covid-19 pandemic was the reason for Nigeria's slump in its third-quarter. "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 a 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", he added.

"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," Mohammed said.

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