The World Bank (WB) has predicted that Nigeria’s current recession might last for three years unless the current reforms are sustained and the right mix of policy measures is implemented.
In a report titled: “Rising to the Challenge: Nigeria’s COVID response” and released by World Bank Nigeria Development Update (NDU) on Thursday, December 10, the international financial agency noted that the “average Nigerian could see a reversal of decades of economic growth and the country could enter its deepest recession since the 1980s”.
Shubham Chaudhuri, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria said; “Nigeria is at a critical historical juncture, with a choice to make. Nigeria can choose to break decisively from business-as-usual and rise to its considerable potential by sustaining the bold reforms that have been taken thus far and going even further and with an even greater sense of urgency to promote faster and more inclusive economic growth. The pace of recovery in 2021 and beyond remains highly uncertain and subject to the pace of reforms. Pandemic is disproportionately affecting the poor and most vulnerable, women in particular. In the absence of measures to mitigate the impact of the crisis, the number of poor could increase by 15 to 20 million by 2022”