Central Bank Has Predicted That Nigeria Could Slide Into Deepest Recession By 2022

The Central Bank of Nigeria has predicted that Nigeria could slide into deepest recession by 2022. The apex bank made this prediction because of the economic crisis in the country caused by COVID19 pandemic and bad government. It predicted that the country could enter its deepest recession by 2022. The bank also projected that the number of poor people in the country will increase by 20 million by 2022.

According to their prediction; “Nigeria is at a critical historical juncture, with a choice to make. Nigeria can choose to break decisively from business-as-usual and rise to its considerable potential by sustaining the bold reforms that have been taken thus far and going even further and with an even greater sense of urgency to promote faster and more inclusive economic growth.”

The country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its figures from the 2019 poverty and inequality in Nigeria report showed that 40 percent of the total population, or almost 83 million Nigerians, live below the poverty line of N137,430 per year.

The central bank in its latest update warned that the economy may shrink up to 4 percent in 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and weak oil prices. The bank noted that food insecurity has escalated while “economic precarity is on the rise because unemployed workers have migrated to the low-productivity agricultural sector.”

According to their words; “Nigeria can build on its reform momentum to contain the spread of COVID-19, stimulate the economy, and enable the private sector to be the engine of growth and job creation. It can also redirect public spending from subsidies that benefit the rich towards investments in Nigeria’s people and youth in particular, and lay foundations for a strong recovery to help make progress towards lifting 100 million people out of poverty.”

In its recommendation, the bank urged the Nigerian government to carry on, in managing the domestic spread of COVID-19 until a vaccine is available for distribution, enhancing macroeconomic management to boost investors confidence, as well as safeguarding and mobilizing revenues.

Again the bank advised that the country’s national revenue be earmarked for critical development expenditures, encouraging economic activity, providing relief items, and access to basic services in rural communities.

Austine Ikeru
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