Economists have warned against a fresh lockdown, stating that imposing a new lockdown would have devastating impacts on the economic.
The experts spoke against the background of a third wave of COVID-19 with the steady rise in positive cases in the last one week and the discovery of a new variant of the virus in Nigeria.
The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control in a statement said it had detected a confirmed case with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant, also known as lineage B.1.617.2.
A report by reliefweb.int showed that the Delta variant had been confirmed in 22 African countries, spreading 225 per cent faster than the original virus.
Former Director General of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chijioke Ekechukwu, in a phone interview with one of our correspondents, said the Nigerian economy was yet to recover from the first lockdown, adding that imposing a second one would have crippling impacts.
He added that a new lockdown would increase the inflation rate, worsen poverty and drive higher unemployment levels.
“The negative impacts of another lockdown will be worse on Nigeria, being a struggling nation and having a very fragile economy. Nigeria is struggling; another lockdown coupled with the worsening insecurity in the country will be very devastating.
“Currently, our inflation rate is as high as 17.39 per cent, making it the 6th highest in Africa, and so, the first lockdown, coupled with other factors, actually increased the inflation rate; a second lockdown would be having our inflation rate well and over 20 per cent, which isn’t good for the economy.
“Another lockdown will increase the level of hunger, poverty and unemployment in the country. During the last lockdown, many companies were forced to shut down, which increased the level of unemployment. We don’t want that to happen again.”
A professor of economics and Chairman of the Foundation for Economic Research and Training, Prof. Akpan Ekpo, who spoke in a separate interview agreed with the views of Ekechukwu, adding that a fresh lockdown might drive the country into another recession.
“The new variants threaten the already sluggish, fragile economy. If we enter another recession, it would be very disastrous,” he said.
In the light of the adverse implications of a new lockdown, the economists urged the federal government and other relevant agencies to enforce existing safety protocols, vaccinate a significant portion of the population, and carry out strict awareness to ensure public compliance.
Ekpo said, “The government needs to enforce existing protocols and carry out strict awareness for people to follow the protocol. Many people are walking about without masks. People are not obeying the protocol, and it is dangerous. So, government needs to enforce COVID-19 protocols.
“Once they enforce that, there is no need for a lockdown because another lockdown will bring the economy to a standstill.
“We don’t want to have two recessions within a year or two. I will not suggest a total lockdown because it may result in massive unemployment, inflation, and recession. We cannot afford these.”
He urged the government to ensure more vaccination, adding that there was a potential danger to the economy if more people were not vaccinated.
