The Presidency yesterday expressed optimism that the economy was on steady growth despite the third quarter (Q3) report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) which showed a further contraction in growth.
It said the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was consistent in its resolve to find economic stability in the country.
A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Office of The Vice President, Laolu Akande, re-affirmed the growth following the latest NBS report, saying the consistent growth in the agric and solid mineral sectors would cushion the effects and boost the economy.
Noting that the vandalism of oil assets in the Niger Delta by militants also affected oil production output, he said hopes were high with ongoing negotiations with leaders in the region.
He said: “The Q3 GDP figures released by the NBS revealed a consistent growth in agric and solid mineral sectors, indicating the success of the Buhari administration’s economic policies even though overall economy is still in recession.
“The over-riding impact of the oil and gas sector, where vandalism and sabotage of critical installations negatively affected production output, explains the persistence of the recession, as the non-oil economy posted a very slight growth.
“Efforts to resolve the Niger Delta situation are however continuing as the Federal Government has opened several channels of communication with all relevant groups in the Niger Delta. Also, urgent fiscal and monetary measures to spur the economy back to overall positive territory are certainly in the offing including those targeting manufacturing.”
He admitted that the country was still in recession.
“The Q3 results just released by the NBS show that the Nigerian economy is still in recession. Growth in GDP fell by -2.24 per cent in the Q3 as compared to the decline of -2.07per cent experienced in Q2.
“The slight deterioration in national economic performance owes largely to the continued poor performance of the oil and gas sector which worsened to -22.01per cent in Q3 as compared to -17.48 per cent in Q2 of 2016.
