Oil Price crash came as a shock, says FG

Chinazor Megbolu |

The Federal Government of Nigeria has said the oil Price crash on Monday came as shock to the nation.

Speaking on Wednesday, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed explained the crash in oil price on Monday was a shock to the country.

She pointed this out during a consultative roundtable meeting organized by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Abuja.

Ahmed noted that the oil price crash was a sudden shock to the country because it was never expected adding that the development was a wakeup call for the country.

She further explained that Nigeria as a nation must look beyond oil and diversify into other sectors of the economy and the best time to do that is now.

“We should not panic, we shouldn’t allow speculation, there is need to put our hands together with all major stakeholders to wither this storm.

“We must take opportunities this impact of coronavirus has provided for us. We are working to strengthen micro economy and we are also making moves to provide fiscal incentives for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to grow.

“The president has formed a team to review the impact of this crash in oil price on the budget.

“We are also working seriously to raise revenue from non-oil sector and in spite of the dwindling revenue, increased funding to critical sectors is important.

“The government is as well making effort to enhance the Ease of Doing Business and will soon inaugurate E-Customs project to help facilitate trade, ’’Ahmed said.

She, however, stated that plans were ongoing by the Federal Government to set up a national saving committee to design a national saving policy.