BMO says Nigeria will surpass IMF’s growth projection

The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has said that Nigeria will surpass the International Monetary Fund (IMF’s) projections of 2.6 per cent economic growth in 2021 and a 2.7 per cent for 2022.

The group stated this in a statement signed by its Chairman, Mr Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary, Mr Cassidy Madueke on Sunday in Abuja, while reacting to the recent IMF’s projections.

This, it said, was especially as a result of the current policies being deployed by the Federal Government on the economic front.

“This is not the first time that IMF is making such projections, but Nigeria never ceases to disappoint it by recording higher economic growth.”

“In 2019, IMF had projected a 2.1per cent economic growth for Nigeria, but against its prediction, Nigeria recorded a real growth of 2.27 per cent in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).”

“In like manner in 2021, IMF also projected that Nigeria’s economy would fall by 5.4 per cent due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“It later reversed its projection to 4.3 per cent, but contrary to that, Nigeria recorded 1.8 per cent,” the group said.

It noted that earlier this year, the IMF predicted a 2.5 per cent growth, but now projecting a 2.6 per cent growth.

The group said though it did not totally agree with IMF’s projections which it considered low, it was gratifying that it acknowledged the performance of the non-oil sector and its contributions to the country’s GDP.

This, the group said was stated as one of the driving forces for the projected growth alongside higher oil prices.

It added that it was no news that under President Muhammadu Buhari, the non-oil sector was picking up as seen in its contribution to the GDP.

“The National Bureau of Statistics’ (NBS) report for the first and second quarters of 2021 showed that the non-oil sector accounted for 90.75 per cent of aggregate GDP in the first quarter and 92.58 per cent in second quarter.”

“NBS also noted that this growth was driven mainly by trade, information and communication: mainly telecommunications, transportation, electricity, crop production and manufacturing.”

“This is the diversification that President Buhari has been emphasising and even IMF cannot deny the fact that it is working and capable of diving our economic growth, ” the BMO said.

It stressed that President Buhari would not relent in his efforts at building upon the country’s economic gains to ensure a more resilient economy.

It therefore expressed confidence that Nigeria would again beat IMF’s economic growth projections.