By Chuks Emele
Nigeria was officially into its second recession in four years after third-quarter gross domestic product contracted 3.62 percent from the previous year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
This follows closely on the heels of the 6.10 percent shrinking recorded in the second quarter. Two contractions in succession technically spell a recession.
“The performance of the economy in third quarter 2020 reflected residual effects of the restrictions to movement and economic activity implemented across the country in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” NBS said in a statement on its website.
With the lifting of the restrictions, improvements have been observed in 18 sectors of the economy in the third quarter, compared to 13 sectors in the preceding quarter, the agency said.
The gross domestic product was 39 trillion naira during the third quarter, a 3.39 percent improvement on the figures recorded for the same period last year.
Nigeria’s economy was hard hit by the collapse of oil demand that came with the lockdown around the globe earlier in the year to curb the spread of the coronavirus, with petroleum exports being the main source of government revenue and foreign income.