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Breaking: Nigeria’s economy officially goes into recession

Buhari

Buhari

Nigeria, one of Africa’s largest economies, has officially gone into recession.

Second quarter figures showed a contraction of 2 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)

The Bureau stated that the economy shrank by 0.36 percent in the first quarter of 2016, to hit its lowest point in 25 years.

This economic recession comes as no surprise to millions of Nigerians. Many say they have never known it so tough.

The slump in global oil prices hit Nigeria hard: The government depends on oil sales for about 70% of its revenues.

But critics say government policies made a bad situation even worse. The decision to delay devaluing Nigeria’s currency meant many businesses struggled to get foreign currency to pay for imports – which had a cooling effect on the entire economy.

Following enormous pressure the government changed tack this summer allowing the naira to float. That’s led to a spike in inflation but the hope is it will attract foreign investors.

The government also says the country needs to import less. It wants to see more products made in Nigeria.

BBC

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