The federal government has listed factors that spurred economic growth in 2020 in the face of the pandemic, bringing the country out of a recession
This was disclosed by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed.
She stated this during a chat with journalists at the State House, after the Federal Executive Council meeting, Abuja.
Ahmed listed fiscal policies, monetary policies, and the federal government’s Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP).
She said that the economy’s growth was pillared by 17 sectors that reported positive growth.
The minister noted that there was a 3.73 percent growth between the third quarter and fourth quarter of 2020, describing it as a “movement […] we have never witnessed in this country”.
She said, “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 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.
“So out of 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.
“In real terms, the growth between the third quarter and the fourth quarter is a positive growth of 3.73%, a movement within one quarter we have never witnessed in this country, so we’re growing from one quarter to another by 3.73%.”
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Ahmed said that the government doubled its efforts in the implementation of the ESP and that it would not relent from its implementation.
“Just of note is that we had vigorously implemented the Economic Sustainability Plan and we continue to implement the ESP.
“Even as we are taking the principles and the tenets of the ESP into the new National Development Plan that will be completed, we hope in the Medium-Term Plan that we hope will be completed and launched in April,” she said.
Nigeria Escapes Recession
The Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NVS) had declared the country’s exit from recession.
It stated that the country rose out of recession by a 0.11 percent growth in the fourth quarter of 2020.
The bureau said, “As a result, while the Q4 2020 growth rate was lower than growth rate recorded the previous year by 2.44 per cent points, it was higher by 3.74 per cent points compared to Q3 2020.
“On a quarter on quarter basis, real GDP growth was 9.68 per cent indicating a second positive consecutive quarter on quarter real growth rate in 2020 after two negative quarters.
“Overall, in 2020, the annual growth of real GDP was estimated at -1.92 per cent, a decline of 4.2 per cent points when compared to the 2.27 per cent recorded in 2019.”
