Abuja 28 Feb (ANA) - Figures just out show Nigeria’s economy shrank by 1.5% in 2016. Last spring Africa’s largest economy officially slid into recession for the first time in 25 years.  These figures may be unwelcome but they are not unexpected. Nigeria is grappling with its worst economic crisis in a generation. It has been largely caused by the slump in global oil prices, which has sucked all-important US dollars out of the economy. It has meant that businesses have been unable to pay for imports leading to a sharp downturn. Critics say government policies made a bad situation even worse. The country’s leader has also been accused of being missing in action. For more than a month now, President Muhammadu Buhari has been in London receiving medical treatment for an unspecified condition. But relief may be at hand - global oil prices are rising again and that could end up pulling Nigeria out of recession.(ANA)

FA/ANA/28 February 2017---