The presidential economic advisory council says Nigeria
would have to work hard to keep its head above the waters of economic troubles
arising as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
During a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the
presidential villa on Tuesday, the council which is led by Doyin Salami said
many countries across the world may go into economic recession.
Members of the council listed various scenarios of what
could happen to the Nigerian economy if the Covid-19 pandemic lasted for too
long.
These include; slower growth, as the supply and demand sides
of the global economy would be affected, uncertainty, which would erode
confidence, governments acting unilaterally instead of cooperatively, further
drop in oil prices, and lockdowns gaining grounds around the world.
“There would also be oil glut, trade imbalance, drop in
foreign reserves and rise in unemployment,” they said.
In response, Buhari said Nigeria has foreseen the economic
problems that may come in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and will explore
all alternatives to protect her people.
“We will see how to survive fallen prices, as we already
envisaged the problem,” the president said referring to crude oil price which
is now $30 per barrel as against the budget benchmark of $57.
He promised that inputs in agriculture, education and
healthcare would continue as much as practicable.
The economic council recommended a possible revision of the
2020 budget, with priority spending on healthcare, reprioritization of
expenditure on infrastructure to focus on projects nearing completion with
pro-poor effects, curtailing recurrent expenditure, mobilizing the private
sector to strengthen health sector infrastructure, and boosting of government
revenue.
The EAC stressed that the projections may seem dire, but the
worst may be avoided with hard work and scrupulous implementation of policies.
Nigeria’s last recession occurred in 2016 when crude oil
prices fell as low as $25.
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