Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decreased by six per cent in real terms in the second quarter of 2020, according to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics.
According to the report which was released on Monday, Oil GDP contracted by -6.63 percent from 5.06 percent in the first quarter and 5.15 percent in the second of 2019.
Non-oil GDP was also reported to have contracted by -6.05 percent from 1.55 percent in the first quarter of 2020 and 1.64 percent in the second quarter of 2019.
This is the first time in three years that Nigeria’s economy will record a negative growth after its exit from the 2016 recession.
“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.”