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Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, has expressed delight at the 4th Quarter 2018 real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which grew by 2.38 per cent, indicating the strongest quarterly growth since the economy slipped into recession in 2016
The report released by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), shows that 2018 full year real GDP stood at 1.93 per cent higher than the 0.82 per cent growth rate recorded in 2017.
The Minister said he was encouraged by the fact that the growth was largely driven by the non-oil sector which grew by 2.70 per cent in the quarter, posting a growth of 2.0 per cent for full year 2018, which the strongest growth in non-oil GDP since the fourth quarter of 2015.
Udoma also said the results show a clear indication of recovery as the Nigerian economy continues to post signs of improvement.
These results, he added, reflect the Buhari administration’s continued implementation of targeted policies, programmes and projects across various Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and other sectors of the economy as set out in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).
“Adherence to the ERGP has resulted in the economy coming out of recession and heading towards sustainable growth,” he said.
At the Dialogue Session on Nigeria’s Economy organised by Deloitte in Lagos penultimate Thursday, the Minister had indicated that with the policy actions of the Buhari Administration in the last three years and the sustained implementation of the ERGP, the Nigerian economy will continue to sustain its recovery and increase growth trajectory in 2019.
He had told participants at the dialogue that though the growth performance is still not where we would like it to be, the direction of growth indicates a positive momentum, especially with regard to the non-oil sector.
“Our aim is to take all measures necessary to ensure that we increase the growth rate whilst maintaining fiscal sustainability”, he had stated.
The 2018 fourth quarter GDP result reinforces the Minister’s position as it shows a 0.57 per cent increase over the 1.81 per cent real GDP figure posted in the third quarter of the year and indicates a stronger growth level than the 2.35 per cent which the Buhari administration inherited in the second quarter of 2015.
These numbers, released in accordance with the NBS Release Calendar, are the final quarter and 2018 full year figures.
According to the NBS report, real GDP grew by 2.38 per cent in Q4 2018 compared to 1.81 per cent in Q3 2018 and 1.17 per cent in Q3 2017. For the full year 2018, real GDP growth stood at 1.93 per cent, higher than the 0.82 per cent achieved in 2017.
The report further shows that the growth was driven by the non-oil sector in Q4 2018, up from 2.32 per cent in Q3 2018; 2.05 per cent in Q2 2018 and 0.76 in Q1 2018. This also compares favourably with -0.33 per cent in Q4 2016 and 1.45 per cent in the corresponding quarter in 2017. For the full year 2018, it indicates that the non-oil sector stood at 2.0 per cent as against 0.47 per cent in 2017. A further breakdown of the non-oil sector shows that the Q4 growth was driven by Transportation which grew by 9.48 per cent (13.91 per cent for 2018), the Construction sector by 2.05 per cent (2.33 per cent for 2018) and Electricity by 0.95 per cent (7.30 per cent for 2018).
