Nigeria has entered second recession in five years, the worst economic decline in almost four decades according to official figures published on Saturday.
This year’s recession, occasioned by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and collapse in oil prices is worse than that of 2016.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Africa’s most populous country has now contracted by -2.48%.
The National Bureau of Statistics, in its Gross Domestic Product report for Q3, said the GDP, the broadest measure of economic prosperity, fell by 3.62 in the three months to September.
The dismal performance in the quarter was caused by the restrictions to movement and economic activity due to coronavirus.
The Q3 aggregate GDP stood at N39,089,460.61 million in nominal terms.
This was lower relative to growth recorded in the third quarter of 2019 by –9.91%.