President Muhammadu Buhari warned on Thursday Nigeria’s economy may slip into its second recession in four years.
The president, who stated this while presenting the 2021 budget estimates to the Joint Session of the National Assembly in Abuja, said Nigeria’s economy was being battered by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and drop in crude oil prices in the international market.
He presented a budget proposal of N13.1 trillion, which represents over 20 percent increase from the 2020 budget.
The president said: “The 2021 Budget was prepared amidst a challenging global and domestic environment due to the persistent headwinds from the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting global economic recession, low oil prices, and heightened global economic uncertainty have had important implications for our economy.
“The Nigerian economy is currently facing serious challenges, with the macroeconomic environment being significantly disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth declined by 6.1 percent in the second quarter of 2020.
“This ended the three-year trend of positive, but modest, real GDP growth recorded since the second quarter of 2017. I am glad to note that, through our collective efforts, our economy performed relatively better than that of many other developed and emerging economies.
“GDP growth is projected to be negative in the third quarter of this year. As such, our economy may lapse into the second recession in four years, with significant adverse consequences.
“However, we are working assiduously to ensure rapid recovery in 2021. We remain committed to implementing programmes to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty over the next 10 years.”
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