Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, has expressed delight at the 2018 fourth quarter numbers just released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The report showed that the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 2.38 percent, indicating the strongest quarter growth since the economy slipped into recession in 2016.
The 2018 real GDP stood at 1.93 percent; higher than the 0.82 percent 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 percent in the quarter, posting a growth of 2.0 percent for 2018, representing the strongest growth in non-oil GDP since the fourth quarter of 2015.”
Senator Udoma, who was reacting from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, yesterday, said the results showed clear indication of recovery as the Nigerian economy continues to post signs of improvement.
These results, he added, reflect President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s continued implementation of targeted policies, programmes and projects across various MDAs and other sectors of the economy as set out in the ERGP.
“Adherence to the ERGP has resulted in the economy coming out of recession and heading towards sustainable economic growth,” he added.
At the Dialogue Session on Nigeria’s Economy organised by Deloitte, in Lagos, penultimate Thursday, the minister 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 maintain its recovery and increase its growth trajectory in 2019.
He told the participants at the dialogue that although “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.”