Mr Olusegun Awolowo, Executive Director, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) says Nigeria’s exports appreciation by 3.2 per cent confirmed that the present administration’s economic diversification is paying-off.
Awolowo said this in a statement by Mr Joe Itah, the Head, Corporate Communications of the council in Abuja.
He was reacting to recent release by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Nigeria’s economy.
According to him, this is proof that the economy has indeed recovered from recession and on the way to sustainable growth.
The report, which covered seven sectors of agriculture, oil and gas, raw materials, solid minerals, manufactured goods, energy and other oil related goods, puts Nigeria’s total export value at N3.1 trillion in second quarter of 2017.
“It represented an increase of 3.2 per cent over first quarter of 2017 and a very significant 73.48 per cent over second quarter of 2016,” he said.
The NEPC boss said that economic slowdown which begun in 2014 was mainly as a result of shortfall in exports, which fell by more than eight trillion naira a year due to the crash in oil prices.
He said that the country, therefore, saw a strong correlation between economic recovery and improved export trade.
He noted that “I am, therefore, happy for the achievement of trade surplus due to exports.
“You may recall that in the corresponding period in 2016, our trade balance stood at a deficit of N572.12 billion.
“The statistics released showed a trade balance surplus of N506.5 billion in the
second quarter of 2017.”
Awolowo said NEPC focused entirely on leveraging the power of exports to transform the Nigerian economy, create jobs, lift people out of poverty and strengthen government’s finances.
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