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Nigeria’s Economy Has Experienced Nine Consecutive Quarters Of GDP Growth – Buhari

  President Muhammadu Buhari says the Nigerian economy thus far has recorded nine consecutive quarters of GDP growth. Advertisement According to the President, the annual … Continue reading Nigeria’s Economy Has Experienced Nine Consecutive Quarters Of GDP Growth – Buhari


Photo: Channels TV/Sodiq Adelakun
Photo: Channels TV/Sodiq Adelakun

 

President Muhammadu Buhari says the Nigerian economy thus far has recorded nine consecutive quarters of GDP growth.

According to the President, the annual growth increased from 0.82 percent in 2017 to 1.93 percent in 2018, and 2.02 percent in the first half of 2019.

He disclosed this while presenting the 2020 budget at the National Assembly on Tuesday.

President Buhari said the continuous recovery reflects the economy’s resilience and gives credence to the effectiveness of his government’s economic policies thus far.

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He also stated that his administration succeeded in significantly reducing inflation from a peak of 18.72 percent in January 2017, to 11.02 percent by August 2019. Adding that this was achieved through effective fiscal and monetary policy coordination, exchange rate stability and sensible management of our foreign exchange.

President Buhari further said that his government has sustained accretion to its external reserves, which have risen from US$23 billion in October 2016 to about US$42.5 billion by August 2019.

Mr Buhari noted that the increase is largely due to favourable prices of crude oil in the international market, minimal disruption of crude oil production given the stable security situation in the Niger Delta region and the nation’s import substitution drive, especially in key commodities.

He stressed that the foreign exchange market has also remained stable due to the effective implementation of the Central Bank’s interventions to restore liquidity, improve access and discourage currency speculation.  Adding that special windows were created that enabled small businesses, investors and importers in priority economic sectors to have timely access to foreign exchange.

Speaking further on economic positives, President Buhari said that as a sign of increased investor confidence in the Nigerian economy, there were remarkable inflows of foreign capital in the second quarter of 2019.

“The total value of capital imported into Nigeria increased from US$12 billion in the first half year of 2018 to US$14 billion for the same period in 2019,” he added.