The federal government has hailed the economic growth recorded in the third quarter of the year, as agriculture and mining continue to maintain steady growth.
This is indicated by the latest GDP figures just released by the National Bureau of Statistics, which saw oil, agriculture and industrial sectors leading the charge.
“The Buhari administration welcomes the new growth figures, and will continue to work diligently on a daily basis to ensure inclusive growth, to which we have always been committed through the active pursuit of a raft of policy initiatives, past and present.
Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu, after the Q3 figures were released said the latest figure has shown that the economy grew by 1.4%.:
Dipeolu said: “The latest NBS GDP figures show that the Nigerian economy grew by 1.4% year-on-year in real terms in the third quarter of 2017 (Q3 2017). This is a steady continuation of the positive growth of 0.55% (now revised to 0.72%) experienced in Q2 2017 and reinforces the exit from the 2016 recession.
“The positive growth in Q3 is consistent with the improvements in other indicators. Foreign exchange reserves have risen to nearly $34 billion while stock market and purchasing managers indices have also been positive.
“The naira exchange rate has stabilized while inflation has declined to 15.91% from 18.7 in January 2017. While inflation is not declining as fast as desirable, it is approaching the estimated target of 15.74% for the year in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.
“Agricultural growth was 3.06% in the third quarter of 2017, maintaining the positive growth of the sector even when there was a slow-down in the rest of the economy.
MMSD, BoI want application for ASM support fund
The Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has sought participation of artisanal and small scale miners in the application for fund through the Bank of Industry (BOI) N5 billion open to the Miners.
The minister of Mines and Steel Development (MMSD), Dr. Kayode Fayemi, said, the Ministry had in August 2017, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bank of Industry Limited (BOI) for the management of a N5 billion fund in support of Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners (ASM) in the country.
He explained that under this scheme, “a certified Artisanal Scale miner, can access between One hundred thousand naira (N100,000.00) and ten million naira (N10,000,000.00); while a Small-Scale Miner can access between ten million naira (N10,000,000.00) and one hundred million naira (N100,000,000.00) with an interest rate of 5%.”
According to Fayemi, this financing and fund is particularly designed to play a “catalytic role in the mining sector.”
