World Bank says Nigeria’s per capita income worst in 40 yrs

The World Bank has said Nigeria’s per capita income has declined to what it was forty years ago following the recent announcement of the slip into recession.

The World Bank’s Country Director in Nigeria, Mr. Shubham Chaudhuri, disclosed this at a panel discussion at the 26th Nigeria Economic Summit in Abuja, on Monday.

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He said the economy was also at a critical juncture with the hit from COVID-19 pandemic, among other issues.

“For Nigeria, this is a critical juncture. With the contraction in GDP that could happen this year, Nigeria’s per capita income could be around what it was in 1980- four decades ago.”

Meanwhile the Federal Government has said the current economic recession will be short-lived, with Nigeria exiting it in the first quarter of 2021.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, stated this Monday at the 26th Economic Summit which began in Abuja.

“Since the inception of 25 years ago, it has become one of the largest annual gatherings dedicated to finding solutions to the challenges facing the Nigerian Economy. It has helped to shape government policies, reforms & sector transformations.”

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced that Nigeria’s economy has gone into a recession on Saturday.

But the minster said: “The current recession will be a short one as the government and key stakeholders are proactively working together to put in place sustainable measures to curtail and improve the situation.”

The theme for this year’s summit is ‘Building Partnerships for Resilience’.

The 26th Nigerian Economic Summit is jointly organised by the NESG and the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning (FMFBNP).

It is expected to be an earnest discourse for public and private sector stakeholders to reflect on the state of the Nigerian economy, rethink the country’s economic fundamentals, deliberate on the impact of the global pandemic and chart a path to rapid recovery.

On what the government is doing to fix the economy, the minister said: “This administration is fully aware of the current economic situation and is working round the clock to reverse the trend and restore the economy on the path of sustainable inclusive growth.

“To achieve these, the government developed a Sustainability Plan to cushion the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and is already implementing policies aimed at stabilising the economy.

“Although we are not yet out of the woods, given the adverse impact of COVID-19, we have to continue to implement the measures to get the economy back on track,” she said.