Nigerian government to cut down workers salaries to deal with economic effects of COVID-19

The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced plans to reduce workers salary in response to the effects of COVID-19 on the economy of the West African giants.

Like other countries in the world, Nigeria's economy has been hit by the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic, but with plans of salary cut in the offing, it appears Nigeria's economy has suffered a complete meltdown.

DW TV Africa quotes Nigeria's Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, as saying the pay cuts, which was directed by President Buhari, is as a result of the country's "dwindling financial fortunes," and will do away with unnecessary expenditures.

“Mr President has directed that the salaries committee that I chair, work together with the Head of Service and other members of the committee to review the government payrolls in terms of stepping down on cost,” said the Finance Minister.

The Nigerian Government is also reviewing the number of federal agencies with the possibility of merging some to further cut down cost.

Countries around the world, including developed economies, have resorted to austerity measures as a response to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The outbreak of the virus in January 2020 also hit global economies, with many sectors completely shutting as nations went on lockdowns.

Despite the presence of vaccines, the hope of returning to normalcy around the world suffered a major setback with second and third waves of the virus hitting many countries early this year.

This has resulted in hikes in the prices of goods around the world and many countries have adopted different measures to keep their economies afloat.