President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday said the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in trying times, not just for the Nigerian people, but also for the government.
The President said the country’s revenues and foreign exchange earnings have fallen by almost 60 percent since the pandemic took hold.
Buhari’s remarks were delivered by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the start of the first-year Ministerial performance review retreat holding in Abuja.
“For the government, it has been a particularly trying time,” Buhari said. “As a result of the poor fortunes of the oil sector, our revenues and foreign exchange earnings have fallen drastically. Our revenues have fallen by almost 60 percent.
“Yet we have had to sustain expenditures, especially on salaries and capital projects, in order to keep the economy going.”
The pandemic forced many economies across the world to shut down, drastically reducing the demand for crude oil, Nigeria’s main export foreign exchange earner.
The President said his administration adopted a N2.3 trillion economic sustainability plan to mitigate the effect of the economic slowdown.
The plan, which consists of fiscal, monetary, and sectoral measures, is expected “to enhance local production, support businesses, retain and create jobs and provide succor to Nigerians, especially the most vulnerable.”
“But we have also had to take some difficult decisions to stop unsustainable practices that were weighing the economy down,” he said.
More to follow . . .
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