Facts have emerged that the Nigerian economy is currently being driven by the non-oil sector.
This is according to the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed.
She disclosed this monday evening at a meeting with the leadership of the National Assembly on Monday evening over the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper.
Those at the meeting were the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege; the Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Idris Wase; and principal officers of both chambers, as well as heads of some revenue-generating agencies.
“The growth of the Nigerian economy, we are pleased to say, is driven largely by the non-oil sector, which has risen to 0.79 per cent, masking the deterioration in the oil sector.
“The sectoral growth in the non-oil sector was primarily driven by telecoms and agriculture sectors as well as other sectors of the Nigerian economy.
“Significant concerns still exist in the performance of trade, as well as transport sector which are still in a very strong negative growth,” Ahmed stated.
The minister pointed out that despite experiencing more revenue generation in 2020 from non-oil sectors, other sectors in the economy such as transport still remained in the negative.
She further noted that since then, the economy has sustained a tepid growth in the first quarter of 2021, with a growth of 0.51 per cent consolidating our exit from recession in the fourth quarter.
Ahmed said Nigeria’s quick exit from recession in the third quarter of 2020 despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy had attendant negative growth on the economy as a result of the significant and sudden drop in crude oil price in the international market.
The Senate President said the meeting was convened to deliberate on projections in the 2022-2024 MTEF/FSP, pointing out that the fiscal document is required to facilitate the early presentation of the 2022 budget by President Muhammadu Buhari in September.
