Emmanuel Adigwe
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has contracted by six per cent in the second quarter of 2020.
The report, which was released on Monday, stated that Oil GDP contracted by -6.63 per cent from 5.06 per cent in the first quarter and 5.15 per cent in the second quarter of 2019.
It disclosed that non-oil GDP contracted by -6.05 per cent from 1.55 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 and 1.64 per cent in the second quarter of 2019.
“The decline was largely attributable to significantly lower levels of both domestic and international economic activity during the quarter, which resulted from nationwide shutdown efforts aimed at containing the COVID-19 pandemic,” the report read.
“The domestic efforts ranged from initial restrictions of human and vehicular movement implemented in only a few states to a nationwide curfew, bans on domestic and international travel, closure of schools and markets etc., affecting both local and international trade.
“The efforts, led by both the federal and state governments, evolved over the course of the quarter and persisted throughout.”