NBS forecasts 5% GDP growth by year-end

Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) may witness 5 per cent growth by the end of the year if agriculture and other subsectors are improved in the third quarter (Q3), Simon Harry, the new Statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said.

Harry stated this while fielding questions from journalists at the sidelines of a press conference organised by Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, and Alh. Lai Mohammed, in response to the latest report by the NBS on the growth of the economy.

The new NBS boss, however, said efforts need to be directed towards putting in place deliberate policies in order to sustain the recent growth and even improve on it.

“As we are all aware, without Sustaining the growth definitely you don’t expect any impact. That is why from the producer side as much as possible, what we do is to encourage govt that deliberate policies should be put in place for us to be able to sustain the growth and even improve on it. From what is happening now and the improvement in the funding of government business there is hope that Q3 of 2021 will see a lot of improvement.

“This year has been witnessing the timely release of budgetary provisions to all MDAs and we expect that to have a multiplier effect on other sectors of the economy. So all I will encourage policymakers is for us to look at those Sectors that are not performing eg in Q2 agriculture performance was not encouraging and I think that with improvement in funding if agriculture and other subsectors under it are improved Q3 will be a lot better. Overall I think by the end of the year, we should be able to grow above 5 %” he said.

Meanwhile, Clem Agba, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, at the conference also disclosed that Federal Government plans to ensure that at the end of the year, the 2021 budget is funded 100%.

Agba said that currently, the 2021 budget saw 25% funding at the first quarter, adding that 50% was approved recently to bring it to 75%.

“Apart from that the 2020 budget was funded 100 %, the 2021 budget, 25 % funding first Q, 50% were approved recently to bring it to 75%. Our plan is to ensure that at the end of the year, the 2021 budget is funded 100%” he said.

According to the Minister of State, part of the reasons the economy witnessed growth had fully funded the economic sustainability plan of N500 billion.

“We are borrowing but with a clear set objective of the Sustainability of the borrowing. The borrowing level of Nigeria today is 23% of GDP. I have said severally that the problem we have in Nigeria is that of revenue.

“We are borrowing sensibly and we are borrowing to invest in infrastructures like power, water, roads and railway. This Investment will enhance business and Productivity in the country, businesses will grow, pay taxes and employ people. if we don’t do these Investments now we will regress from where we are. We are borrowing responsibly, the way we are borrowing is to ensure we invest in infrastructure that will return Revenue to the government.

“In the economic sustainability plan, we have a budget of 500billion specific to the plan, this is aside from the 1.8trillion that was to come from the financial institutions under special borrowing terms. We have fully funded the economic sustainability plan, again that is why we see some of this growth” he added.