The federal government says the Nigerian economy will recover from the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first quarter of 2021.
Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, gave the projection when board members of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) paid her a courtesy visit in Abuja.
There are projections that the economy will slip into its worst recession in 30 years and the second in five years after the 2016 recession.
A report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that Nigeria’s gross domestic product shrunk by six percent in the second quarter of 2020.
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A statement signed by Yunusa Tanko Abdullahi, the special adviser media and communications to finance minister, quoted Ahmed as saying the economy will recover in Q1 2021.
She said the prediction is based on the minimal impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The minister urged the FIRS to do more in revenue generation in order to service government debt and implement other government activities.
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“The shocks have not manifested as expected and that the pandemic has not impacted much, especially in Nigeria because of the proactive measures taken by the government especially in the health sector,” she said.
“We are expecting by the first quarter of 2021, we shall be okay.
“There are other government obligations and debt servicing which requires revenue to fund and we can see that the capacity to do more is there and we expect you (FIRS) to do more”.
Ahmed added that she is happy that “the FIRS has remained resolute as both value-added tax (VAT) and stamp duty have helped in boosting the revenue”.
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In his remark, Mohammed Nami, FIRS chairman, said the agency is doing well and the reforms put in place are generating results as tax revenue has accounted for 70 percent of funds available to the federation accounts allocation committee in the last three months.
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