World Bank lowers Nigeria’s growth forecast to 3.1%

The World Bank has cut Nigeria’s 2022 growth forecast to 3.1% from a previous forecast of 3.8%.

In its latest Nigeria Development Update (NDU), launched in Abuja, the bank said that the nation had to make hard choices or face a worse economic downturn in the months and years ahead.

The World Bank said that the revision in growth projection was due to slow economic growth in the third quarter, due to a weak performance in critical areas of the economy.

The bank also forecast growth to slow 2.9% in 2023, adding that Nigeria’s economy needs to grow faster to reduce poverty.

It noted that despite favorable global oil prices, “business as usual” economic management is not delivering desired outcomes and, even if a crisis is avoided in the near-term, long-standing policy and institutional challenges are persisting and severely constraining the economy.

This hinders the prospects of the vast majority of the country’s people, at least 80 million of whom live in extreme…