By Nigeria has formally exited recession as the country’s economy grew by 0.11 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020.
This was contained in a recent report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The latest development comes after two consecutive quarters of negative growth which resulted in a recession.
Recall Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy, slid into a recession for the second time under the Buhari administration, owing to the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NBS report partly read: “Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.11 percent (year-on-year) in real terms in the fourth quarter of 2020, representing the first positive quarterly growth in the last three quarters.
“Though weak, the positive growth reflects the gradual return of economic activities following the easing of restricted movements and limited local and international commercial activities in the preceding quarters.
“As a result, while the Q4 2020 growth rate was lower than growth rate recorded the previous year by –2.44 percentage points, it was higher by 3.74 percentage points compared to Q3 2020.
“On a quarter on quarter basis, real GDP growth was 9.68 percent indicating a second positive consecutive quarter on quarter real growth rate in 2020 after two negative quarters.
“Overall, in 2020, the annual growth of real GDP was estimated at –1.92 percent, a decline of –4.20 percentage points when compared to the 2.27 percent recorded in 2019.”
