Nigeria on course to meet 3.5% growth estimate for 2018

Nigeria is on course to meet its projected 3.5 percent growth estimate for 2018, following the release of its Q4 2017 GDP numbers by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday.

The statistical agency announced that the economy grew by 1.92 percent and Adeyemi Dipeolu, the presidential special adviser on economic matters said the numbers were a sign of consolidation of post-recession growth in the country’s economy.

In the third quarter of 2017, the Nigerian economy had grown by 1.4 percent, and this latest figure for the fourth quarter marks the third consecutive growth since emergence from recession in the second quarter of 2017.

Dipeolu described the growth of 1.92 percent in Q4 2017 as an improvement on both the previous quarter and the previous year saying, this quarterly growth contributed to an overall positive growth rate of 0.82 percent in 2017, which translates to a 2.24 percent points increase from -1.58 percent in 2016.

According to him, the other notable element of the data is that the non-oil sector experienced a strong growth of 1.45 percent in Q4 2017 compared to a contraction in the previous quarter and the whole of 2016.

“The positive trajectory for the economy should begin to gain momentum as the multiplier effects of investments in infrastructure, including power, roads, and rail, alongside improvements in the business environment begin to manifest. The agricultural sector is expected to continue its strong showing, while manufacturing should also show sustained growth based on the improved availability of foreign exchange and greater backward integration in several of its sub-sectors. Taking all these factors into consideration, the Federal Government estimate of 3.5 percent growth in 2018 is quite achievable,” Dipeolu said.