Coronavirus and Social Service Spending in Nigeria 2020: An Aggregated Expenditure Approach

The sole objective of this study was to investigate the effect of coronavirus on social service spending in 2020 as a measure of the implications of COVID-19 on Nigerians, relative to the effectiveness of the government’s social spending in mitigating the socioeconomic strain caused by the pandemic. The study used documentary analysis to assess the impact of COVID-19 on Nigerians’ socioeconomic lives and the government’s policy response to the situation. The review found that COVID-19 exacerbated the existing poverty in Nigeria, and most of the government's social spending was not effective in mitigating the effects. The study concluded that government policy responses to the socioeconomic strain caused by the pandemic were ineffective due to the pre-existing poor performance of social services spending in Nigeria before the onset of COVID-19. As the world prepares for future pandemics, we recommend that the Nigerian government overhaul the existing social protection programs on poverty alleviation in Nigeria by addressing all gaps and looking for effective and strategic ways such expenditure and fiscal policies can achieve desirable results.