The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, has reported a second recession in five years for the Nigerian economy, this time far worse than that of 2016. The figures by NBS revealed that the economy shrank again in the third quarter of this year.

The Muhammadu Buhari government has faltered on the economic front since 2015 and this represents the worst times for the nation in the last three decades.

This year’s recession, however, had been much anticipated because of the COVID-19 pandemic which slowed global economy especially import-dependent economies like Nigeria.

The NBS, in its Gross Domestic Product report for Q3, said the GDP, the broadest measure of economic prosperity, fell by 3.62 in the third quarter of July-September.

A nation is said to experience recession when its economy experiences two consecutive quarters of shrinking GDP.

For the first time in more than three years, the Nigerian economy shrank in the second quarter of this year as the GDP fell by 6.10 per cent, compared with a growth of 1.87 per cent in Q1.

The NBS had explained in August that the economic decline in Q2 was largely attributable to significantly lower levels of both domestic and international economic activity resulting from nationwide shutdown efforts aimed at containing the COVID-19 pandemic.

It said the contraction in Q2 brought to an end the three-year trend of low but positive real growth rates recorded since the 2016/17 recession.