According to a press statement signed by the
Senior Special Assistant-Media & Publicity to
the Vice President, Laolu Akande
*2nd quarter figures indicate further growth
in Agric, solid mineral sectors: *Better than
IMF estimates *Reveals highest increase in
share of investment in GDP since 2010.
The just released GDP figures for the 2016
second quarter by the National Bureau of
Statistics while confirming a temporary
decline, has also indicated an hopeful
expectation in the country's economic
trajectory.
Besides the growth recorded in the
agriculture and solid mineral sectors, the
Nigerian economy in response to the policies
of the Buhari presidency is also doing better
than what the IMF had estimated with clear
indications that the second half of the year
would be even much better.
The Buhari presidency will continue to work
diligently on the economy and engage with
all stakeholders to ensure that beneficial
policy initiatives are actively pursued and the
dividends delivered to the Nigerian people.
The following statement was made by the
Special Adviser to the President on Economic
Matters, Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu on the latest
NBS report:
"The just recently released data from
the National Bureau of Statistics
showed that Gross Domestic Product
declined by -2.06% in the second
quarter of 2016 on a year-on-year
basis.
A close look at the data shows that
this outcome was mostly due to a
sharp contraction in the oil sector due
to huge losses of crude oil production
as a result of vandalisation and
sabotage.
However, the rest of the Q2 data is
beginning to tell a different story.
There was growth in the agricultural
and solid minerals sectors which are
the areas in which the Federal
Government has placed particular
priority.
Agriculture grew by 4.53% in the
second quarter of 2016 as compared
with 3.09% in the first quarter. The
metal ores sector showed similar
performance with coal mining,
quarrying and other minerals also
showing positive growth of over
2.5%. Notably also, the share of
investments in GDP increased to its
highest levels since 2010, growing to
about 17% of Gross Domestic Product.
The manufacturing sector though not
yet truly out of the woods is
beginning to show signs of recovery
while the service sector similarly bears
watching.
Nevertheless, the data already shows
a reduction in imports and an increase
in local produced goods and services
and this process will be maintained
although it will start off slowly in
these initial stages before picking up
later.
The inflation rate remains high but
the good news is that the month-on-
month rate of increase has fallen
continuously over the past three
months.
Unemployment remains stubbornly
high which is usually the case during
growth slowdowns and for reasons of
a structural nature.
The picture that emerges, barring
unforeseen shocks, is that the areas
given priority by the Federal
Government are beginning to respond
with understandable time lags to
policy initiatives. Indeed, as the
emphasis on capital expenditure
begins to yield results and the
investment/GDP numbers increase, the
growth rate of the Nigerian economy
is likely to improve further.
As these trends continue, the outlook
for the rest of the year is that the
Nigerian economy will beat the IMF
prediction of -1.8% for the full year
2016.
The IMF had forecasted a growth of
-1.8% for 2016, however the economy
is performing better than the IMF
estimates so far. For the half year it
stands at -1.23% compared to an
average of -1.80% expected on
average by the IMF.
What is more, it is likely the second
half will be better than the first half of
2016. This is because many of the
challenges faced in the first half either
no longer exist or have eased."
0 comments: