Renowned Capital Market Professor and President of the Association of Capital Market Academics of Nigeria, Uche Uwaleke has said, that the Q1 2021 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reflects an economy already on the path of gradual economic recovery with a positive real GDP growth rate following that recorded in the previous quarter.
The former Imo State Commissioner for Finance said, “although still weak at 0.51%, it is interesting to note that the manufacturing sector is now out of the negative territory increasing from -1.51% to 3.40%”.
Prof. Uwaleke said, equally noteworthy was the moderation in the negative performance in sectors like Trade, Accommodation and Education.
He noted that the increase recorded in the Health sector from 3.05% in Q4 of 2020 to 4.65% clearly shows that the country was winning the war against the COVID’19 pandemic.
He said, “It is clear that the improved performance in the oil sector relative to the previous quarter was largely on account of improvement in average crude oil production
“But the report also reveals disturbing pattern in the real GDP growth rate. Declines were recorded in critical sectors of the economy such as Agriculture, ICT, Real Estate and Transportation. This may not be unconnected with the rising insecurity in the country.
“That the non oil sector dropped should be of concern to both the fiscal and monetary authorities”, he added.
