Nigeria's GDP contracts by 2.24 percent in Q3

Nigerian economy slipped further into deep recession as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), an indices used to measure economic growth contracted by 2.24 percent in the third quarter of the year, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said on Monday.

Nigeria, which has Africa's largest economy, slid into recession for the first time in 25 years in the second quarter following an economic crisis triggered by a slump in crude prices that has hammered the OPEC member's public finances. Crude sales make up two-thirds of government revenue.
The statistics office said the OPEC member's oil production averaged 1.63 million barrels per day in the third quarter, lower than the previous quarter figure and a year ago.
Africa's biggest oil exporter has been hit hard by low world prices for crude, sales of which account for around 70 percent of national income.
Analyst said its probably the economy's worst performance since the mid-1990s.
The central bank has imposed currency restrictions but maintained the naira's peg against the dollar. Investment has fallen, as foreign firms expect an eventual devaluation because of the slump in oil revenues.
What the latest figure means is that despite all the efforts made by the central bank to improve dollar supply to the productive sector, the economy is yet to respond to the measure.
Many Nigerians are already groaning under the yoke of the weak economy as food prices skyrocketed in recent time, while many companies are embarking of job cut to stay afloat.