President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigeria’s economic downturn was occasioned by COVID-19 pandemic.
The President made this known on Monday in Abuja, while declaring open the 26th Nigerian Economic Summit with the theme: “Building Partnerships for Resilience.”
Buhari who was represented by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, said the downturn caused by the pandemic included lockdowns, disruption in global supply chains, business failures and rising unemployment.
“We can all recall that during the lockdown, farming did not take place, businesses were closed; schools were closed as were hotels and restaurants.
“Also, airlines stopped flying, while inter-state commerce was disrupted.
“The economy only began to recover when these activities resumed and if we are able to sustain the nearly three percentage point increase from the second-quarter decline of minus 6.1 per cent, the performance in the fourth quarter could take us into positive territory,’’ he said.
According to him, some of the plans initiated by the federal government to ensure speedy recovery from the recession include the introduction of the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) which contains programmes aimed at creating and conserving jobs.
He added that the speedy pathway out of the current recession was to quicken the implementation of the ESP.
“Of course, an improvement in global economic conditions, including the restoration of global supply chains and resumption of exports and remittances, should enable a V-shaped recovery.
“We expect, in the same spirit of partnership, that the private sector will complement these efforts by making maximum use of the provisions of the ESP and the Finance Bill when it is passed by the National Assembly and also by retaining and creating jobs so as to keep people at work.
“In a similar spirit of partnership, private sector enterprises should also pay their due taxes,’’ he added.
