Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja II, Ooni of Ife, has urged the Nigerian government to come up with recovery plans capable of improving the economy of the country.

The first-class monarch said this in his Christmas/New Year message issued by his Director of Media and Public Affairs, Moses Olafare, and titled ‘Ooni charges FG on economic recovery plan as he rejoices with Christians, says COVID-19 second wave real’.

Ooni, a Co-chairman of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria, said, “We started this year 2020 with a lot of hopes and aspirations, particularly on the country getting it right economically towards the prosperity of the entire citizenry, but unfortunately the COVID-19 pandemic crept in, sinking the economy in another recession. It has happened this way, and the only way out is for the government to take responsibility.

“Government policies must be executed in a way that the standard of living of the citizens, particularly the youths is upgraded which will, in turn, reduce the crime rate in the country.”

The monarch said the country needs a clear economic policy to take it out of recession and revive the economy.

Nigeria is a key regional player in West Africa, Nigeria, which has about half of West Africa’s population with approximately 200 million people.

But despite an abundance of natural resources, including being Africa’s biggest oil exporter, it is also the poverty capital of the world.

The Nigerian economy in 2020 slipped into its second recession in five years as the gross domestic product contracted for the second consecutive quarter. The National Bureau of Statistics recently announced the nation’s Gross Domestic Product recorded a negative growth of 3.62 per cent in the third quarter of 2020.

According to the World Bank, nationally, 40 percent of Nigerians (83 million people) live below the poverty line, while another 25 percent (53 million) are vulnerable. With COVID-19, many of these 53 million vulnerable people could fall into poverty.