By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Nigeria has further been downgraded in the S&P Global Ratings as the country battles with recession and inflation.
S&P Global Ratings downgraded Nigeria into junk territory just as the country prepares to issue its first Eurobond since 2013.
This is the latest blow to the economy, which shrank in the last two quarters as Nigeria is headed for its first full-year recession since 1991.
“Nigeria’s economy has weakened more than we expected owing to a marked contraction in oil production, a restrictive foreign exchange policy and delayed fiscal stimulus,” S&P said Friday in an e-mailed statement after markets closed.
While government debt remains low, “servicing costs as a percentage of general government revenues are high and rising.”