Cargo movements out of
Nigeria could be affected by
the ebola crisis if incidents
of the disease increase in
the country, warns Natznet
Tesfay, head of Sub-
Saharan Africa analysis at
IHS Country Risk.
Nigerian health minister
Onyebuchi Chukwu has
confirmed the spread of
the virus beyond Nigeria’s
financial capital Lagos to
the oil hub Port Harcourt,
bringing the total number
of recorded cases in Nigeria
to over 15.
“If the virus continues to
spread, business operations
and trade from Nigeria will
face an increasing risk of
disruption from responsive
measures, including border
closures, flight restrictions,
cargo screenings and
evacuation of expatriate
staff as seen in the three
worst affected countries in
West Africa,” says Tesfay.
This could, in turn, affect
the stability of the country.
“Reduced economic
activity is only likely to
compound pressure on
government expenditure,
which is heavily focused
on defence, given the
expanding Boko Haram
terrorist threat in the
north, and the highly
contentious general
elections slated for
February 2015.
“The health emergency
will probably result in the
diversion of even more
government funds from
educational, agricultural
and infrastructure
projects,” he warns.
INSERT
Reduced economic
activity is only likely
to compound pressure
on government
expenditure, which
is heavily focused on
defence
– Natznet Tesfay
