* Nigeria's last recession was in 2016
* Africa's top oil exporter hit by low crude prices
* Pandemic restrictions cited by statistics office
(Adds details, quotes, bullets, alters dateline)
By Alexis Akwagyiram and Chijioke Ohuocha
LAGOS/ABUJA, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Nigeria has slipped into a
recession after its gross domestic product contracted for the
second consecutive quarter, according to data released on
Saturday which showed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and
low oil prices.
Africa's biggest economy was last in recession in 2016, its
first in a generation, and emerged the following year.
But growth has been fragile and the pandemic has hit the
economy hard, amid low oil prices. The continent's top oil
exporter relies on crude sales for 90% of foreign exchange
earnings.
"Q3 2020 Real GDP contracted for second consecutive quarter
by -3.62%," Yemi Kale, the statistician general, said on
Twitter. "Cumulative GDP for the first 9 months of 2020
therefore stood at -2.48%," he added.
The oil sector contracted by 13.89% in the third quarter
against growth of 6.49% in the same period a year earlier,
according to data cited by Kale, while the non-oil sector shrunk
by 2.51% in the three-months to September.
Following Nigeria's first confirmed COVID-19 case in late
February, lock-downs were imposed from late March until early
May in the main cities - economic hub Lagos and the capital
Abuja.
Lockdowns were also imposed in some of the country's others
states and a ban was placed on inter-state travel.
"The performance of the economy in Q3 2020 reflected
residual effects of the restrictions to movement and economic
activity implemented across the country in early Q2 in response
to the COVID-19 pandemic," the statistics office said in a
report published on Saturday.
"As these restrictions were lifted, businesses re-opened and
international travel and trading activities resumed, some
economic activities have returned to positive growth," it said.
The government had previously said it expected the economy
to contract by as much as 8.9% this year in a worst-case
scenario without stimulus.