Coronavirus: IMF predicts hard times for Nigerians

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted a contraction in the Nigerian economy, as the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) forces a lockdown in the commercial hub of Lagos, the northern economic hub of Kano and the capital city of Abuja.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of sub-Saharan Africa is expected to contract 1.6% this year, compared to 3.1% growth last year, as the coronavirus pandemic wrecks the region’s economies, the report from IMF states.

For Nigeria, the IMF forecasts GDP to fall 3.4% in 2020 after growing 2.2% in 2019.

The plunge in the price of oil in the international market and a shortfall in demand of crude due to global shut downs, will also leave Nigeria’s economy in the red.

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The World Bank had painted a similar grim picture of the Nigerian economy in the coronavirus era.

“The Covid-19 pandemic is testing the limits of societies and economies across the world, and African countries are likely to be hit particularly hard,” World Bank Vice President for Africa Hafez Ghanem said.

The World Bank and IMF are racing to provide emergency funds for Nigeria and other African countries in a bid to combat the coronavirus pandemic and mitigate its economic impact on the population.

African nations are also looking at debt reliefs from the international economy to help them pull through after lockdowns and restrictions are relaxed.

Nigeria has currently confirmed 373 cases of Covid-19.