Invest in agric to consolidate GDP growth, expert urges FG

A financial expert, Mr Okechukwu Unegbu, has urged the Federal Government to invest more in key infrastructure and agriculture sectors to consolidate growth in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Unegbu, a former President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday.

He spoke against the backdrop of the country’s GDP which grew by 0.51 per cent in real terms in the first quarter of 2021.

The figure was slower than the 1.87 per cent growth recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2020 but higher than 0.11per cent achieved in the previous quarter (Q4 2020).

This is contained in the Nigerian Gross Domestic Product report, recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

According to the report, aggregate GDP stood at N40.01 trillion in nominal terms as against N35.65 trillion recorded in Q1 2020, while real GDP stood at N16.83 trillion in the review quarter.

Unegbu advised that the Federal Government should initiate more agric schemes to boost production and as well ensure growth in the economy.

He said such schemes should be based on the region’s comparative advantages.

According to him, proper implementation of the policy will enhance food sufficiency in the country.

He noted that all tiers of government should encourage their people to be inoculated with the COVID-19 jabs, in order to return their businesses to normalcy.

He added the Federal Government should sustain its investment in key infrastructure, so as to engineer economic growth.

“ Fixing the irregular electricity challenges will enable the non-oil sector to contribute more to the GDP growth.

“ The non-oil sector has the capacity to change our economic narratives if given the necessary support,” Unegbu said.