The Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, has said Nigeria’s exit from recession is a key indicator that the country is poised for stable and consistent growth.
The minister said this on Wednesday while briefing State House reporters after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.
She said the exit from recession was an indication that the diversification efforts were yielding results and that there has been a vigorous implementation of the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) approved by FEC last June with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo leading the drive.
Nigeria’s economy unexpectedly came out of a recession in the fourth quarter as growth in agriculture and telecommunications offset a sharp drop in oil production.
Gross domestic product grew 0.11% in the three months through December from a year earlier, compared with a decline of 3.6% in the third quarter, the Abuja-based National Bureau of Statistics said on its website last week Thursday.
“This is one of the shortest lived recessions we have witnessed in the country, despite the impact of the COVID-19, but I must say that the result of this exit is as a result of the fiscal policies, the monetary policies and the Economic Sustainability Plan that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has been implementing.”
Zainab said from the 46 sectors of the economy, 17 recorded positive growth and this is higher than the number of sectors that had recorded positive growth in the third quarter.
She also said the Agricultural Sector posted a strong growth of 3.42% during the last quarter and when you compare to the previous quarter, it’s a much better performance.
Overall, the non-oil sector grew by 1.69%. This is an indication that the diversification efforts that the economy has been pushing is actually also posting results; while the oil sector is declining, the non-oil sector is growing.”
