The Nigerian economy has officially exited a painful recession according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The economy recorded a marginal 0.55 percent growth in the second quarter (Q2) of 2017 after recording negative growth for five consecutive quarters, following multiple shocks, due to the crash in the price of crude oil, the country’s main foreign exchange earner.
According to the NBS report which is due to be formally released Tuesday, the Q2 2017 growth rate of 0.55 per cent (year-on-year) was 2.04 per cent higher than the rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2016 (-1.49%) and higher by 1.46 per cent points from rate recorded in the preceding quarter, which was revised to – 0.91% from – 0.52% due to revisions to crude output for March 2017.
The data shows that Nigeria’s economic recovery was driven principally by the performance of four main economic activities comprising oil, agriculture, manufacturing and trade.
The results reveal that Oil GDP recovered significantly from -11.63 per cent in Q2 2016 and -15.40 per cent in Q1 2017 to 1.64 per cent in Q2 2017.
While Oil GDP expanded considerably in the second quarter of 2017, non-Oil GDP only grew by 0.45 per cent, down from 0.72 per cent in the preceding quarter and -0.38 in the corresponding period in 2016.
Agriculture continued its strong and positive growth, which it had maintained throughout the recession period, growing by 3.01 per cent in Q2 2017, from 3.39 per cent in Q1 2017 and 4.53 per cent in Q2 2016.
Also, manufacturing retains its positive growth for the second consecutive quarter in Q2 2017, growing at 0.64 per cent compared to 1.36 per cent in Q1 2017 and -3.36 per cent in Q2 2016.
Trade, which has a dominant share of GDP remained negative at -1.62 per cent, but the contraction in the sector decelerated from the -3.08 per cent recorded in Q1 2017 while electricity and gas recorded strong growth by 35.5 per cent, compared to -5.04 per cent in Q1 2017 and -10.46 per cent in Q2 2016.
Financial institutions grew by 11.78 per cent in Q2 2017, compared to 0.60 per cent in Q1 2017 and -13.24 per cent in Q2 2016 while the industry sector grew positively by 1.45 per cent in Q2 2017, after nine consecutive quarters of negative growth since Q4 2014.
Meanwhile, the Senate expressed delight Tuesday that the 21 recommendations it submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016 are already yielding results.
It’s position was contained in a statement signed by Senate spokesman, Sabi Abdullahi, on Tuesday.
The Senate said it is commendable that after five consecutive quarters of contraction, the Nigerian economy grew by 0.55 per cent in the second quarter of 2017.
Abdullahi added that the improved performance of the trade, manufacturing, agriculture and oil sectors were an indication that with carefully aligned policy and legislative interventions, Nigeria’s economy could thrive beyond current forecasts and expectations.
“The Senate received Q2 NBS economic report with great excitement. We are delighted that government’s response to the economic recession has began to yield tangible results.
“The public will recall that in the days following the announcement of the 2016 recession, the Senate initiated steps and tabled 21 recommendations that it submitted to the executive for immediate action. We also listed out economic priority Bills, many of which have now been passed, or at the final stage.
“We are also happy to note that many of the economic recommendations, specifically in the areas of retooling our agriculture and trade policies were adopted. This shows that the ‘all hands on deck’ approach was necessary from both branches on government,” the Senate spokesman said
He further noted that though the nation is now out of recession, the Senate remains committed to seeing that the unemployment rate and high cost of living in the country is brought down.
“The rising unemployment in the country is an issue that is of much concern to all of us. Additionally, the rising cost of food prices and basic services in the country still affects millions of households.
“This is why we will continue to work on our laws, specifically in the areas of access to credit to promote more opportunities for small business owners; and opening up more sectors to private sector participation, so that there will be more competition in our markets – which will lead to lower prices.
“We will also continue to work with the executive to ensure that our policy and legislative objectives, specifically as they relate to the economy, are well-aligned,” Abdullahi said.