Nigeria government on Thursday
said the recent exit from recession does not mean that the country is totally
immune to economic dip.
Minister of Budget and National
Planning, Udo Udoma, stated this while addressing a National Economic Council
meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential
Villa.
He warned that Nigeria’s economy
was still vulnerable to shocks.
Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu
Akande, in highlights of the meeting, quoted the minister as noting that
unemployment remained a challenge to the nation’s economy.
Akande said Udoma gave the
council a breakdown of sectoral performance of the economy, disclosing that
agriculture had the highest Gross Domestic Product growth.
He told the council that
inflation had come down to 16.01% in the second quarter from over 18% in the
last quarter of 2016.
The statement read in part, “The
minister invited the council to note that the NBS has published the GDP for the
economy for Q2 2017; that the economy has now recovered from recession growing
0.55% in the second quarter of 2017, with Agriculture growing at 3.01% in Q2
2017, Industry growing for the first time in nine quarters by 1.45%, while
Services contracted by -0.85%.
“That the recovery was driven
largely by growth in agriculture, manufacturing, crude oil and gas production,
solid minerals, financial services, and electricity supply.
“That headline inflation has
trended downwards every month since January, though further developments in
food prices still need to be watched closely.
“That the economy is sustaining
the growth in capital imported into the country with improvement in foreign
reserves and trade balance.
“That unemployment and
underemployment remain a challenge for the economy.
“That despite these improvements,
the economy is still deemed vulnerable to shocks and focused policy
implementation is required to sustain the recovery; and the need to continue
implementing the ERGP for sustainable development.”
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