An Economic Expert, Dr Uju Ogubunka, has urged the Federal Government to give more priority to mechanised agriculture and critical infrastructure to accelerate the growth of the nation’s GDP.
Ogubunka, who is a former Executive Secretary of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN),gave the advice in an interview in Lagos on Tuesday.
According to him, the Federal Government must give extra attention to mechanised agriculture if the GDP is to be boosted within the next quarter.
“ The agric sector has the capacity to improve the country’s food output, regardless of the health pandemic.
“This is as agriculture is one of the most reliable means of generating employment and empowering youths in the hinterland,” he said.
He, however, said that the federal government should sustain its investment in key infrastructure in order to stimulate growth in the economy.
“ The various electricity projects should be completed at the nick of time so as to accelerate industrialisation of the country.
“All the railway reconstruction should be intensified to support the non oil sector, “ he said.
Ogbunka said that the tiers of government should put in more effort in tackling the security challenges limiting the inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country.
Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2020, grew by 1.87 per cent (year-on-year) in real terms, representing a drop of 0.23 per cent points.
This is as compared to Q1 2019 and 0.68 per cent points decline compared to Q4 2019.
