Recession: The worse maybe possibly over – Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) says the nation’s economic contraction of 3.62 percent of the third quarter against the 6.1 percent of the second quarter of the year 2020 may indicate that the worst is over.
Reacting to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) quarterly report, its Director-General, Dr. Muda Yusuf, told newsmen that the news of recession was not surprising.
The NBS in its report said the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP recorded a negative growth of 3.62 percent in the third quarter of 2020.
Yusuf also noted that the #EndSARS protests and the destruction that followed were major setbacks for the nation’s economic recovery prospects.
Yusuf, however, expressed hope that the economy would resume to the path of growth in the first or second quarter of 2021, barring any new disruptions to the economy.
The DG, however, said to facilitate quick recovery, there was need to restore normalcy to the foreign exchange market by broadening the scope of market expression in the allocation mechanism.
“The ports system, especially the key institutions in the international trade processes need to be more investment friendly.
“We should show greater commitment to the fixing of the structural issues to reduce production and operating costs for investors in the economy,” he said.
Yusuf said that following the EndSARS experience, the state of internal security had begun to impact negatively on investors’ confidence.
He noted that security presence was becoming less visible, especially in the major cities, with psychological effects which, he said, could adversely affect investment and economic recovery.