Against the backdrop of the 1.87 per cent growth recorded by the economy in the first quarter of 2020, the Nigerian Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has called on the Federal Government to shield the economy from external shocks. NECA said: “In our analysis of the country’s economy, we observed a strong correlation between global oil prices (brent) and the country’s GDP between Q1 2014 and Q1 2020, indicating that the direction of growth is pretty much determined by the direction of oil prices. “It can be adduced that a dollar increase in global oil prices corresponds with average 0.1 per cent rise in growth. A similar trend was witnessed in Q2 2017, when the country exited from recession, it was not buoyed by government policies, but rather rebound in oil prices. “This calls for a more drastic management of the country’s economy from the global shock of oil prices.

Source: Nigerian Tribune May 25, 2020 18:22 UTC