By Adeola Tukuru Abuja
Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma.Udo Udoma, yesterday said the nonoil sector earnings had risen by 70% in the fi rst quarter of 2017. Also, the minister announced that the country is moving out of recession at a faster rate than had been anticipated because of the government’s dedication and concerted eff orts at getting the country of the economic doldrum.
Udoma, who made this disclosure yesterday in Abuja at the Public Consultative forum on the 2018-2020 Medium Term Fiscal Framework and Fiscal strategy paper, added that they were still awaiting the fi nal GDP numbers . Th e minister said the development was due to the clear measures taken by the federal government in minimising the destruction on the oil production in the Niger Delta, among others.
“In Nigeria, we are moving out of recession gradually though the place of recovery is fragile, so we really have to work hard to sustain that movement” According to him, the oil sector fl owed by 11.64 percent but it was better than the fourth quarter on 2016. ” 2016 was a bad year due to the destruction in the Niger Delta leading to reduction in oil production. “At a point, Nigeria was producing below 1millon barrels per day but now from January to July, the average has been about 1.9 million per day and we are expecting that by the end of the year we will have 2.2 million barrels per day.
“We are expecting that this year, we will end up with an average production of nearer 2.1milion by the end of the year given the current trends,” he said. Th e minister furtherexplained that they are expecting some growth at the global economic which is slightly up in 2017 from 3.5% to 3.6% but in the sub-Sahara African, adding that there are a lot of reforms from African countries including Nigeria which is been undertaking. “We are expecting an increase in growth from 2.6 % to 3.4% in 2018. We are expecting increase in growth in Africa especially in the subSahara Africa, ” he said.
