Despite the economic recession that the country is presently facing, the Presidency on Wednesday declared that the Nigerian economy is performing better than the predictions of the International Monetary Fund, IMF.
It, however, admitted that the inflation and unemployment rates in the country had remained high despite efforts by the current government.
The Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu, stated this in a statement while reacting to the Gross Domestic Product figures for the 2016 second quarter by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.
Dipeolu noted that the report, while confirming a temporary decline, has also indicated what he called hopeful expectation in the country’s economic trajectory, stressing that there were clear indications that the second half of the year will be better.
“Besides the growth recorded in the agriculture and solid mineral sectors, the Nigerian economy in response to the policies of the Buhari presidency is also doing better than what the IMF had estimated with clear indications that the second half of the year would be even much better,” he said.
The presidential aide assured that the current administration would continue to work diligently on the economy and engage all stakeholders to ensure that beneficial policy initiatives were actively pursued and the dividends delivered to the Nigerian people.
Quoting the recently released data from the NBS as showing a decline in GDP by -2.06% in the second quarter of 2016 on a year-on-year basis, he attributed the outcome to a sharp contraction in the oil sector due to huge losses of crude oil production as a result of vandalisation and sabotage.
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