BY FRANCIS EZEM

 

Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product GDP recorded a 1.95 per cent growth rate (year-on-year) in real terms in the first quarter of 2018, the National Bureau of Statistics NBS, has said. This is an indication that the first quarter of 2018 started on a positive note, given that the country exited recession in the second quarter of 2017 with a GDP growth rate of 0.55 per cent.

Details of the report released by the bureau shows a stronger growth when compared with the first quarter of 2017 which recorded a growth of -0.91 per cent indicating an increase of 2.87 per cent points

Further details however show that when compared to the preceding 4th quarter of 2017, there was a decline of -0.16 per cent points from 2.11 per cent quarter on quarter, as real GDP growth was -13.40 per cent.

This also represents consecutively 4th quarter of positive growth since the country recession in Q2, 2017, believed to have been triggered by increased oil production and prices, with the attendant  improvements in foreign exchange liquidity and a rebound in non-oil sector activities.

According to the NBS report, oil production estimates for the third and fourth quarters of 2017 had been revised and oil GDP for those quarters had been adjusted accordingly

The bureau also reports that the aggregate GDP stood at N28.5billion in nominal terms. This performance is higher when compared to the first quarter of 2017 which recorded a nominal GDP aggregate of N26.02billion thus, presenting a positive year on year nominal growth rate of 9.36 per cent. Further analysis however shows that this rate of growth is lower relative to growth recorded in Q1 2017 by -7.70% points at 17.06 per cent but higher than the preceding fourth quarter of 2017 by 2.14 per cent points at 7.22 per cent.

To give a clearer depiction, the Nigerian economy has been classified broadly into the oil and non-oil sectors, as the non-oil sector accounting for over 90.3 per cent of the GDP while the oil sector accounts for less than 10 per cent accordingly.

Recall that the nation’s economy had slipped into recession in early 2016 following its contraction for two consecutive quarters amidst some economic policies experts believed were not properly thought out and implemented even in the face of declining price of crude oil, which is the mainstay of the economy.