Nigeria’s Presidential Advisory Council had warned that in the midst of the falling price of oil due to the ravaging COVID-19, Nigeria risked sliding into recession
Nigerian economy went into recession in 2016, following a fall in price in 2016. The advisory team pointed out that the consequences of the current falling price on Nigeria would be slower economic growth, erosion of confidence in the economy, rise in unemployment, depletion of foreign reserves, trade imbalances.
The team suggested the need to evolve measures to stabilise the economy and even immediate cuts in the annual budget.
Among others, a possible revision of the 2020 budget, with priority spending on healthcare, re-prioritisation of expenditure on infrastructure to focus on projects nearing completion with pro-poor effects, curtailing recurrent expenditure, mobilising the private sector to strengthen health sector infrastructure and boosting of government revenue. The council stressed that the projections may seem dire but the worst may be avoided with hard work and scrupulous implementation of policies.
Nigeria gets 60 per cent of government revenue and 90 per cent of its foreign exchange from the sale of oil.
The advisory team, which reports directly to President Buhari, is led by Doyin Salami, PHD, a professor at the Lagos Business School, and Chukwuma Soludo, also a professor and former Governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank.
