In a swift reaction to the latest first quarter 2020 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report released by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) which said that Nigeria’s economy grew by 1.87%, the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, NECA has warned that only aggressive, decisive fiscal and monetary policies can sustain an economic recovery.
This is even as the employers association declared that the real impact of COVID-19 on the economy would be felt in the Q2 GDP result due to the commencement of the lockdown in April.
This was contained in a statement issued by the association
“There is the need for the Fiscal and Monetary authorities to develop more aggressive and decisive policies to sustain economic recovery in the wake of further low oil prices. We believe that more coordinated stimulus packages targeted at the worst-hit sectors of the economy would sustain the economy from experiencing a contraction of 8.9% as predicted” the association stated.
They further declared that they expect the country’s economy to contract in the second quarter of the year.
“We anticipate a contraction in the second quarter, as the economy witnessed a 6 week’s lockdown on the commercial nerves of the country, and similar trend witnessed in the global economy, except China, whose consumption of fuel due to opening of industrial hubs and transportation could portend mild positive growth pattern due to demand for crude oil” the statement reads.
The association stated that the slowdown in the GDP growth reflects the earliest effects of the disruptions on the non-oil economy, coupled with an escalating war of words between the U.S. and China which resulted in low demand in global oil.
Recall that the lockdown of the Nigerian economy commenced in April due to the pandemic.
