Nigerian Economy Falls 6.1% Amidst COVID-19 and Oil Crash in the Second Quarter of 2020

Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) had contracted up to 6.1% year-on-year (YoY) in the second quarter of 2020 (2Q 2020), due to the double blow of falling oil prices and the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Nigeria is the largest economy in the African continent as well as its leading oil producer. However, the month-long lockdowns of its main commercial centre Lagos and capital city Abuja, dealt considerable damage to its domestic and international economic activities, the NBS stated.

The drop in oil prices as a consequence of the pandemic resulted in the roll-back of crude oil production to 1.81 million barr...