President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the 3.4% growth witnessed in Nigeria’s economy in 2021 could be attributed to investments made in the infrastructure in the country.
The President disclosed this during his acceptance speech of the 2021 Trophee Babachar Ndiaye award reported in a statement by the State House.
According to him, it is evident that infrastructure investment is good for the economy and by building roads, we are building Economies.
What he said:
Buhari said “Our most recent GDP results of 3.40%, the biggest in the last 7 years clearly show that the construction sub-sectors and related sub-sectors of the economy were among the big performers of the growth surge.Very evidently, infrastructure investment is good for the economy. By building Roads, we are building Economies.”
He added that the founding vision of African Leaders is coming to fruition, Evidence of the African Renaissance is being showed today in Nigeria, citing that the Trophee Babacar Ndiaye 2022 at the 7th Edition of Africa Road Builders symbolizes this Renaissance.
“On behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I accept the Africa Road Builders Award for the Hope, Prosperity and Progress that it symbolizes.
“The East to West crossing of Nigeria across the Second River Niger Bridge which will be finished this year is a major investment by Nigeria on the Lagos-Mombasa Trans African Highway, as is the Enugu – Abakaliki to Mfum Highway.
“The 375Km Abuja to Kano that is now under construction is Nigeria’s major part of the Trans African Highway No. 2; Algiers to Lagos.
“Apart from these Trans African connections, we are rebuilding, expanding or replacing strategic Highways and Bridges across our country,” he added.
What you should know
Nairametrics reported that Nigeria’s real GDP increased from an estimate of N70.01 trillion recorded in 2020 to N72.39 trillion in 2021, representing a recovery from the recession recorded in the second and third quarters of 2020.
Transportation and storage sector, electricity and other notable non-oil sectors of the economy drove the significant growth recorded in 2021. For example, the transportation and storage sector recorded a 16.25% GDP growth in the review year as against the 22.26% contraction recorded in the previous year.
Also, electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply recorded a 27.57% growth in real terms, overturning the 2.9% decline recorded in 2020, while the financial and insurance sector grew by 10.07% in 2021 as opposed to 9.37% growth printed in the previous year.
On the other hand, the information and communications sector, which was one of the best performing sectors during the pandemic, recorded a decline in its growth rate, as its GDP growth rate stood at 6.55% in 2021 compared to 13.18% recorded in the preceding year.
