Nigerian govt orders ‘quick assessment’ of impact of Coronavirus on economy

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday set up a committee headed by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, to assess the impact of the raging coronavirus on Nigeria’s 2020 budget.

The minister, who disclosed this to State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the committee’s primary job is to assess how the crash of crude oil prices to $30 per barrel would affect the budget.

The committee is expected to submit a report to Buhari on Tuesday.

Ahmed added that the committee would decide whether to reduce the budget benchmark of $57 per barrel.

“But, what that figure will be is what the committee will decide,” the minister told journalists.

Ahmed added that in the event it became necessary to reduce the benchmark, the committee would also recommend a reduction in the size of the N10.59trillion budget.

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The President met behind closed doors with the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, and the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba.

Also at the meeting were Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mela Kyari.

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