A new World Bank report estimates that the Nigerian economy would likely contract by 3.2% in 2020 if COVID-19 is contained by the third quarter of 2020. It should be noted that the Nigerian economy was expected to grow by 2.1% in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic, which means that the pandemic resulted in a loss of 5 points of growth.

Commenting on the report, the World Bank's Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, said: "While the long-term economic impact of the global pandemic is uncertain, the effectiveness of the government's response is important in determining the speed, the quality and sustainability of the economic recovery. In addition to immediate efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 and stimulate the economy, it will be even more urgent to address bottlenecks that impede the economy's productivity and job creation."

Oil accounts for more than 80% of Nigeria's exports, 30% of its bank loans and 50% of overall government revenues. Tax revenues are expected to rise from an already low level of 8% of GDP in 2019 to 5% in 2020. The COVID-19 crisis could push an additional 5 million Nigerians into poverty in 2020, the World Bank says.