Why market has not reacted to Q2 2021 GDP growth ― Olawepo-Hashim

Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, says businesses have not positively reacted to the 5.01% leap in GDP second quarter 2021 growth because it is still processing the news.

In a statement, Olawepo-Hashim said “year on year Q2 2021 GDP growth data released by the NBS and widely published on August 21 was cheering news to most economic handlers in government. It should be.

“But unlike when there is news of economic contraction, which immediately always impact on market, panic in the stock exchange, currency markets and domestic price levels, the news about GDP growth takes time to trickle down positively.”

He, however, expressed delight at the news and insisted that the development was a pointer to the country’s resilience.

Olawepo-Hashim, who was a presidential candidate in the 2019 general election, said in a statement that although, the growth in GDP does not automatically lead to fall in prices of goods and services for the ordinary man and woman to see and feel, “but for economic watchers; this underscores the resilience of Nigeria’s economy.”

The global energy executive explained further that, “the important item for me is that despite relatively high oil price, it is the non oil sector that rises more, as the oil sector’s contribution to GDP fell by 1.83% points.

“While, non oil sector rose by 1.93%. Whereas, oil remains important as a major foreign exchange earner, it is becoming increasingly insignificant in the Nigeria’s GDP as it accounts for only 7.42% of the GDP.

“The 5% growth in the GDP is an indication to prophets of doom that Nigeria will not go under as they continuously wish.

“The economic come back is not a fluke or on account of oil money, there are quiet revolutions taking place in the communication sector unknown to many that will transform Nigeria to a cyber power in the nearest future.

“Between 2020 and June 2021 alone, Nigeria added new 19.0 million internet users, bringing her total to over 104.4 internet users being the 6th largest users in the world ahead of many European countries.

“Once Nigeria gets its security challenges under control and rising ethnic and religious division under check, the nation is on her way to the top. Her priorities will be to reform the electricity sector and achieve quick stable electricity supply, upgrade infrastructure, stimulate industrialization and job creation, and cut rising poverty by bridging the gap between the extremely poor and extremely rich.

“Indeed the global consulting company, PriceWaterhouseCooper (PWC), in a report in 2015 predicted that by 2050, Nigeria will be the 14th largest economy of the world ahead of Spain, Italy, and Canada etc.

“I dare say with more work and putting our internal divisions behind, we will be able to surpass PWC’s predictions. Nigeria can be one of the first ten economies of the world, we have got all it takes.”

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