* But remains fastest growing in Africa
Nigeria’s economy has slipped into another recession, the second in four years after the 2016 slump.
A report released on Saturday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBC) disclosed this.
Indeed figures published by the NBS show that the economy shrank again in the third quarter of this year.
Nigeria’s economy maintained a second consecutive negative growth after contracting by 3.62 per cent in the third quarter. The cumulative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first nine months of 2020, therefore, stood at -2.48 per cent just as it recorded a -6.10 per cent in the second quarter.
“Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) recorded a growth rate of –3.62% (year-on-year) in real terms in the third quarter of 2020,” the report partly read. “Cumulatively, the economy has contracted by -2.48%While this represents an improvement of 2.48% points over the –6.10% growth rate recorded in the preceding quarter (Q2 2020), it also indicates that two consecutive quarters of negative growth have been recorded in 2020.
“Furthermore, growth in Q3 2020 was slower by 5.90% points when compared to the third quarter of 2019 which recorded a real growth rate of 2.28% year on year.” For the first time in more than three years, the Nigerian economy shrank in the second quarter of 2020 as the GDP fell by 6.10 per cent, compared with a growth of 1.87 per cent in Q1.
In August, the NBS said the economic decline in Q2 was largely attributable to significantly lower levels of both domestic and international economic activity resulting from nationwide shutdown efforts aimed at containing the COVID-19 pandemic.
It said the contraction in Q2 brought to an end the three-year trend of low but positive real growth rates recorded since the 2016/17 recession.
Nonetheless, the United Kingdom Trade Envoy to Nigeria, Helen Grant, said Nigeria is the fastest growing economy in Africa.
Ms Grant said this at the two-day Nigerian Diaspora Investment Summit (NDIS) organised by Nigerian in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), in collaboration with Nigeria Diaspora Summit Initiative (NDSI).
The activity, the third in the series, began on November 20 and will end on Saturday.
It has the theme: “Post-COVID-19 Economic Resurgence: Targeting Diaspora Investment”.
Ms Grant is quoted as saying that it will strengthen UK-Nigeria relations.
She announced that her government is ready to educate, and also learn from Nigeria by enhancing the bilateral trade between both countries.
She added that UK and Nigeria have so much that unite them, especially in the areas of culture and language, and stressed the need to build on such existing relations to bring about economic growth.
She said that Nigeria is full of investment opportunities and potentials.
“We look forward to coming to Nigeria to identify with viable businesses that the UK government could partner with in generating real and long term benefits for both countries,” she said.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Zubairu Dada, applauded NiDCOM, NDSI and other collaborators for organising the activity targeted at bringing about constructive interface between Diaspora investors and business owners in the country.
He emphasised that Nigerians in the Diaspora are potential resources in the areas of skills, experiences and resources which could be tapped into, in bringing about national development.
He added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would continue to stress the importance of engaging with Nigerians in the Diaspora in bringing about economic resurgence and national development in the post-COVID-19 era.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Niyi Adebayo, who also spoke at the event, said the Federal government, through the Economic Sustainability Committee (ESC), had launched the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP).
He said the efforts are targeted at actualising the recovery of the economy from the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that Nigerians in the Diaspora are key drivers of achieving the recovery growth plan.
He reiterated that the NDIS is an avenue of actualising the Economic Recovery Growth Plan through leveraging on the Diaspora resources.
He listed some of the achievements of the Federal government in cushioning the effects of the pandemic on the citizens to include the release of N200 billion loans for micro, small and medium enterprises in Nigeria.
He listed some of the investment opportunities in some parts of the country and told the meeting that the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has been organising programmes to attract investment to Nigeria.