Nigeria’s Q2 GDP outlook better than projected – FG: The Presidency has said the figures of the Nigerian Gross Domestic Product (GDP), recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), presented a better performance result of the economy in the first half of this year.
The Presidency was reacting to negative interpretations that trailed the -6.10per cent GDP figure released by the NBS, explaining that though the numbers were in the negative, they were comparatively positive improvement on previous years’ experience and better than projected by analysts.
In a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, the Presidency noted that the Federal Government’s early realisation of the impending economic gloom and the prompt response through various interventions, including the Economic Sustainability Programme (ESP), had helped the country realise the fairer outcome.
The statement read: “The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) published on Monday August 24, 2020, the 2nd Quarter (Q2) 2020 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimates, which measures economic growth.
“Nigeria’s (GDP) declined by -6.10per cent (year-on-year) in real terms in the second quarter of 2020, ending the 3-year trend of low but consistently improving positive real growth rates recorded since the 2016/17 recession. Consequently, for the first half of 2020, real GDP declined by -2.18per cent year-on-year, compared with 2.11per cent recorded in the first half of 2019.
“The overall decline of -6.1per cent (for Q2 2020) and -2.18 per cent (for H1 2020) was better than the projected forecast of -7.24per cent as estimated by the National Bureau of Statistics. The figure was also relatively far better than many other countries recorded during the same quarter.
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“Furthermore, despite the observed contraction in economic activity during the quarter, it outperformed projections by most domestic and international analysts. It also appears muted compared to the outcomes in several other countries, including large economies such as the US (-33 per cent), UK (-20 per cent), France (-14 per cent), Germany (-10 per cent), Italy (-12.4 per cent), Canada (-12.0 per cent), Israel (-29per cent), Japan (-8 per cent), South Africa (projection -20 per cent to -50 per cent), with the notable exception of only China (+3 per cent).’’
It continued: “The government’s anticipation of the impending economic slowdown and the various initiatives introduced as early responses to cushion the economic and social effects of the pandemic, through the Economic Sustainability Programme (ESP), contributed immensely to dampening the severity of the pandemic on growth.