NBS Boss, Dr Yemi Kale

Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS on Tuesday indicated that the Nigerian economy has officially exited a painful recession with a marginal 0.55 percent growth in the second quarter (Q2) of 2017 after recording negative growth for five consecutive quarters.

The NBS report also indicated that Q2 2017 growth rate of 0.55 per cent (year-on-year) was 2.04 per cent higher than the rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2016 (-1.49%) and higher by 1.46 per cent points from rate recorded in the preceding quarter, which was revised to – 0.91% from – 0.52% due to revisions to crude output for March 2017.

The figures indicated that the economic recovery was driven principally by the performance of four main economic activities comprising oil, agriculture, manufacturing and trade.

The report indicated that Oil GDP recovered significantly from -11.63 per cent in Q2 2016 and -15.40 per cent in Q1 2017 to 1.64 per cent in Q2 2017.

Oil GDP expanded considerably in the second quarter of 2017, Non-oil GDP only grew at 0.45 per cent, down from 0.72 per cent in the preceding quarter and -0.38 in the corresponding period in 2016.

NBS also said the agriculture sector continued its strong and positive growth, which it had maintained throughout the recession, growing by 3.01 per cent in Q2 2017, from 3.39 per cent in Q1 2017 and 4.53 per cent in Q2 2016.

In the same vein, the report indicated that manufacturing retained its positive growth for the second consecutive quarter in Q2 2017, growing at 0.64 per cent compared to 1.36 per cent in Q1 2017 and -3.36 per cent in Q2 2016.

But trade, which has a dominant share of GDP remained negative at -1.62 per cent, but the contraction in the sector decelerated from the -3.08 per cent recorded in Q1 2017 while electricity and gas recorded strong growth by 35.5 per cent, compared to -5.04 per cent in Q1 2017 and -10.46 per cent in Q2 2016.

NBS figures also indicated that financial institutions grew by 11.78 per cent in Q2 2017, compared to 0.60 per cent in Q1 2017 and -13.24 per cent in Q2 2016.

The statistical body also said in the report that industry sector grew positively by 1.45 per cent in Q2 2017, after nine consecutive quarters of negative growth since Q4 2014.