Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, on Monday, said the country will exit recession by the first quarter of 2021.

Ahmed spoke about the current recession in the country at the ongoing 26th Nigerian Economic Summit organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group and the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning.

Nigeria, on Saturday, entered its second recession in five years in the third quarter of this year as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell for the second consecutive quarter.

According to figures released by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) cumulative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first nine months of 2020, therefore, stood at -2.48 percent just as it recorded a -6.10 percent in the second quarter.

The finance minister said the COVID-19-induced recession followed the pattern across the world where many countries had entered an economic recession.

“Nigeria is not alone in this, but I will say that Nigeria has outperformed all of these economies in terms of the record of a negative growth,” Ahmed said.

Also at the Economic Summit, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo made the emphasis that the government is committed to working in synergy with the private sector to foster equitable growth and underpin national development.

The 26th Nigerian Economic Summit focuses on building partnership for resilience for Nigeria’s households, businesses, and the general economy. (Channels TV)

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