The government of Nigeria says that the banking sector in the country is still strong despite of the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, told the media at an event, “the various interventionist activities of the apex bank helped to significantly mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses and households as well as reduce the level of contraction in the economy. “The impact of the CBN interventionist activities has been positive, without which the positive GDP growth recorded in the first quarter of the year prior to the pandemic would not have been possible, neither would the somewhat reduced contraction of the economy to -6.1 percent in the second quarter against projections of over -7.4 percent have been possible.”
It is reported that Nigeria’s economy surged 1.87 percent in the first quarter of 2020. However, analysts have predicted that the country’s economy will contract 7.4 percent in the second quarter following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s GDP contracted -6.1 percent. It is reported that the Apex bank plans to rebase the interest rates on all CBN intervention facilities from nine per cent to five percent for one year in response to the economic crisis because of the pandemic.
The government is taking all measures to revive the economy. The Central Bank of Nigeria has already focused to serve the agricultural sector and SME’s.