Nigerian economy on recovery path, says Presidency

The Presidential Adviser on Economic Matters, Dr Adeyemi Dipeolu, has analysed the statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) saying it showed the economy maintained path to recovery.

According to Dipeolu, it is an encouraging indication of a steady, even if slow, progressive pace.

He said by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), figure the Nigerian economy was emerging out of recession. “The 2017 Q1 GDP figures released early Tuesday depicts an overall picture showing the economy is emerging slowly out of recession’’, he said.

Dipeolu noted that growth had continued in agriculture and a notable positive turnaround had also been recorded in manufacturing and non-oil sectors.

He, however, observed that slowdown in negative growth rates was noticed in several more sectors. “The latest figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the economy shrank by 0.52 per cent in the first quarter of 2017 (Q1 2017).

“Although the economy remains in recession, this is the strongest performance in five quarters and shows a significant turnaround from the low of -2.34 per cent reached in the third quarter of 2016 (Q3 2016).

He observed that agricultural growth remained in positive territory although growing at a slower rate of about 3.4 per cent due to seasonal factors. He also said that growth in manufacturing on the other hand returned to positive territory after five quarters of negative growth.

Dipeolu hinted that the solid mineral sector continued to justify the priority given to it by the Federal Government with high double digit growth for metal ores at 40.79 per cent and quarrying at 52.54 per cent.

He said growth in the oil sector remained negative at -11.64 per cent although with over six percentage point improvement in its fortunes from the previous quarter.

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“More significantly, the non-oil sector which accounts for about 90 per cent of GDP returned to positive growth although at a marginal level of 0.72 per cent in Q1 2017.

He, however, said that food inflation remained of concern as it continued to trend upwards. “This is mainly due to rising transport costs and other structural impediments to the movement of foods in the domestic market.

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Dipeolu further explained that the outlook was reinforced by positive trends in other indicators such as improved oil prices and increasing production, in addition to rising foreign exchange reserves.

He added that increased capital spending by the Federal Government as well as improved perceptions reflected in various purchasing and sales managers indices also assisted in the growth.

“Barring major economic shocks, it should still be possible to restore growth this year as projected in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan”, he said.