Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed, has said President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has pulled Nigeria out of two recessions and set the country on the right growth path.
She stated this on Wednesday durinng an interview with Bloomberg TV at the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
On GDP growth, she said FG has also done a lot in terms of taking care of her citizens.
She said “We have done a lot in terms of taking care of people, increasing infrastructure stock, holding the economy to grow consistently. Despite 2 recessions we have pulled out of the recession and set the country back on growth. We have done a lot to provide when people need help the most”.
Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.25% year-on-year in Q3 2022, marking the slowest growth since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The slow growth was attributed to the base effects of the recession and the challenging economic conditions that have impeded productive activities.
The Q3 2022 growth rate decreased by 1.78% points from the 4.03% growth rate recorded in Q3 2021 and 1.29% points relative to 3.54% in Q2 2022.
In nominal terms, aggregate GDP stood at N52.26 trillion in the quarter under review, representing a 15.83% growth compared to N45.11 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of 2021. Q3 2022 growth is higher compared to 15.03% and 15.41% recorded in Q2 2022 and Q3 2021 respectively.
It was reported earlier that the Minister said that it will be safer for the Buhari administration to start removing fuel subsidies gradually from the beginning of the second quarter of 2023.
She said “What will be safer is for the current administration to start removing the fuel subsidy at the beginning of the second quarter because it works better if you remove it gradually than all at once.
” The idea for us in the 2023 budget is that fuel subsidy costs should not exceed that N3.36 trillion, so, whether it is done completely 100% by June or otherwise, it’s the process and the cost that counts.”
