The World Bank says Nigeria’s economy is in good shape as it grew by 3.4 percent in 2024 amid high prices.
Taimur Samad, the World Bank’s Acting Country Director for
Nigeria, disclosed this in his unveiling of the Nigeria Development Update
(NDU) in Abuja on Monday.
According tom, the Nigerian economy is improving due to the
country’s commitment to sustained reforms.
He justified his position on improved economic reforms such
as a stable exchange rate, rising foreign reserves, and improved fiscal
conditions.
He said the improvements in fiscal conditions were primarily
driven by increased federation revenues, which had contributed to the positive
economic outlook for the country.
Samad mentioned that economic growth in the last quarter of
2024 had surged to 4.6 percent on a year-on-year basis, bringing the full-year
growth for 2024 to 3.4 percent, the highest since 2014, excluding the 2021-2022
COVID-19 rebound.
“Additionally, the fiscal deficit shrank from 5.4 percent of
gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023 to 3.0 percent of gross domestic product
(GDP) in 2024.
“This positive trend was driven by a sharp rise in
federation revenues, which increased from N16.8 trillion in 2023, 7.2 percent
of GDP, to an estimated N31.9 trillion in 2024, 11.5 percent of GDP,” he said.
However, Samad emphasised that many challenges remained,
including persistent high inflation, which stood at 24.23 percent in March
2025.
He stressed the importance of the Central Bank of Nigeria
maintaining tight monetary policies to ensure continued economic stability.
“However, it was clear that sustained momentum and further
reforms are necessary to drive growth and expand economic opportunities,” he
added.
On his part, Alex Sienaert, World Bank’s Lead Economist for
Nigeria, provided further insights, stressing the need for careful monitoring
of revenue gains from the fuel subsidy removal and cautioning against overly
ambitious budget projections for 2025.
He also emphasised the importance of scaling up the targeted
cash transfer programme to assist vulnerable populations.
Sienaert outlined several steps for achieving macroeconomic
stability, including reducing the cost of governance and accelerating the pace
of economic growth.
He called for a private sector-led, public
sector-facilitated growth strategy to address critical infrastructure gaps,
particularly in electricity and transportation, while fostering a competitive
and open business environment.
This comes as the president of the African Development Bank
(AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, barely a week ago said with Nigeria’s current gross
domestic product per capita of $824, Nigerians are worse offan in the
independent era of 1960.
However, Bayo Onanuga, a presidential spokesperson,
dismissed Adesina’s claim.
He said, “His ignorance and perhaps bias against any talk on
the economy as it relates to this government.”
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com