Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN), says Nigeria will exit its recession in the first quarter of 2021.
Nigeria is currently experiencing its worst economic
recession in over three decades.
According to the recent gross domestic product (GDP) numbers
released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the nation recorded a
contraction of 3.62 percent in the third quarter of 2020.
This is the second consecutive quarterly GDP decline since the recession of 2016. The cumulative GDP for the first nine months of 2020, therefore, stood at -2.48 percent.
Speaking at the 55th Chartered Institute of Bankers of
Nigeria (CIBN) dinner in Lagos, on Friday, the CBN governor said there is no
cause to panic.
He said prior to the recession, Nigeria witnessed 12
consecutive quarters of economic expansion after a similar experience in 2016.
“As we are all aware, prior to the onset of the virus in
December 2019, the Nigerian economy was on a positive growth trajectory, having
made a significant recovery from the 2016-2017 recession, which was triggered
by the drop-in commodity prices in 2016,” he said.
“Following the recession, we witnessed 12 consecutive
quarters of economic expansion, and GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2019
stood at 2.55 percent. Our exchange rate remained stable for over two years at
N360/$ and our external reserve witnessed significant accretions from the sale
of crude oil and continued inflows from foreign investors.”
Emefiele explained that positive improvement in growth has
been recorded in several sectors of the economy.
He said the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) all share index
rose by 65 percent between April and November 2020.
The CBN governor said recovery from the ongoing recession is in sight as the country will bounce back in the first quarter of 2021.
He urged banks to provide more funding for ICT, agriculture
and infrastructural development.
“Furthermore, 36 out of the 46 economic activities tracked
by NBS, reflected positive improvements in growth, which includes activities
that recorded negative growth. In the Investors and Exporters Window, close to
$150m is being traded daily as a result of our measures to sanitize activities
in the foreign exchange market,” he said.
“In addition, the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share index
rose by 65 percent between April and November 2020, reflecting improved
sentiments by investors on the fundamentals of publicly listed companies. As a
result of these measures, GDP growth in the third quarter, improved to -3.6
percent from -6.1 percent in quarter two, even though the economy fell back
into a recession.
“We however expect that Nigeria would emerge from the
recession by the first quarter of 2021, due to high frequency data that
indicates continued improvements in the non-oil sector of our economy.
“We also expect that growth in 2021 would attain 2.0
percent. However, downside risks remain, as restoration of full economic
activities, particularly in service related sectors, remains uncertain until a
COVID-19 vaccine is produced and made available to millions of people across
the world.”
Present at the event was Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of
Lagos, who assured stakeholders in the banking sector of security of lives and
property in the state.
Sanwo-Olu commended Emefiele for the economic interventions
by the CBN, appreciating bankers in the
state for the support provided to the Lagos state government.
He added that his administration is also working on measures
to boost revenue through several measures including the production of rice.
“We are building the biggest rice mill in the country — a 32
metric tonne per hour rice mill in the country, and we hope that by first
quarter next year the mill will be ready,” he said.
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If Emefiele was that smart how come Nigeria entered such a deep recession in the first place? Except he's suggesting that it is a fix such as everything else is a scam!
ReplyDeleteThis govt is a joke. CBN gov dragged us to recession twice in five years is still the same man that plan to take out?how pls?if you know all these before then why did we entered recession? How do we exit recession when CBN rate is 392-1$?
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