Satellite data hint Nigeria’s economy is improving

Nigeria’s battered economy improved between April and June, at least according to satellite data.

San Francisco-based SpaceKnow’s Nigeria Night Light Index, which measures light intensity and provides an indication of electricity usage, rose 29 percent year-on-year in that period, the first time it has shown a positive reading since the final three months of 2015, which was also the last time output in Africa’s largest oil producer grew.

Nigeria’s statistics office is scheduled to release gross domestic product figures for the second quarter on Sept. 4.

President Muhammadu Buhari who recently returned from a medical vacation abroad said Monday that he is pleased with the improving state of the Nigerian economy, following a meeting with Udo Udoma, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Finance; and Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), at the State House in Abuja.

In a statement signed by Femi Adesina, Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, “a delighted President declared that he was pleased with the progress being made on different fronts.”

The statement added that the President “expressed gladness that things were looking up after two years of yeoman’s job”.

The ministers and CBN Governor briefed President Buhari on the improving state of the economy, implementation of the 2017 Budget, preparation for the 2018 Budget, revenue strategies, combined cost reduction and debt management.

Also discussed at the meeting which lasted for almost two hours include monetary policy strategies and their impact on the economy among other issues.

The President reminded the ministers and CBN Governor that reviving the economy was one of the major planks on which the campaign of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), was based, urging them not to relent in their efforts, noting that the main aim of government was to bring succour to Nigerians across all walks of life.