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The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) confirmed on Wednesday that Nigeria has entered the recession bracket.
The situation is further compounded as the country continues to records job losses occasioned by sustained drop in the price of crude oil coupled with crisis in the Niger Delta region.
According to the report, the decline has caused the Naira to get weaker while lower oil prices dragged the oil sector down.
NBS explained that slump in crude prices, Nigeria’s mainstay, has altered public finances and the naira currency, causing dollar shortages. Crude sales account for around 70 percent of government revenues.
Compounding the impact of low oil prices, attacks by militants on oil and gas facilities in the southern Niger Delta hub since the start of the year has cut crude production by about 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.56 million bpd. The government’s 2016 budget assumed 2.2 million bpd.
Meanwhile, annual inflation reached 17.1 percent in July from 16.5 percent in June – a more than 10-year high – and food inflation rose to 15.8 percent from 15.3.
Compounding the impact of low oil prices, attacks by militants on oil and gas facilities in the southern Niger Delta hub since the start of the year has cut crude production by about 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.56 million bpd. The government’s 2016 budget assumed 2.2 million bpd.
Meanwhile, annual inflation reached 17.1 percent in July from 16.5 percent in June – a more than 10-year high – and food inflation rose to 15.8 percent from 15.3.
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