LAGOS, Dec. 8 (Chinese media) -- The continuous fall in global oil prices could spell doom for Nigeria's economy, said Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State of southeast Nigeria.
The governor from the oil producing Niger Delta region made the remark Sunday in Lagos during an interview with correspondents i, the News Agency of Nigeria reported Monday.
"We are dependent on forces that are not within our control. If the oil price can fall from 147 dollars to less than 50 dollars per barrel under three months, that shows that Nigeria can actually collapse economically under six months," he said.
"The falling oil price will affect everybody, every state and will even affect the Federal Government," he said.
"We are watching this and praying it will not go far below 40 dollars per barrel as it is going now but that shows the volatility of Nigeria economy," he said.
Akpabio said the trend was a lesson for the country to urgently diversify its revenue-generating sources.
"We must go back to the basics and that means agriculture," Akpabio said, adding that it would both help to boost employment generation and lessen dependence on oil.
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