Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, says the novel Coronavirus, which had led to a huge drop in crude oil prices worldwide, would put a severe strain on the Federal Government’s budget.
She said with the attendant effects of the spread of the virus, the time had come for the country to begin to live a life without oil.
Ahmed said these at a consultative roundtable with the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele. The finance minister, who described the current economic challenges as a shock to the government, however, said this is not the time for Nigerians to panic.