Finance Ministry Insist Economy is Strong

In an apparent reaction to the statement by the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) that the Nigerian economy is in the doldrums, the presidency and Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Wednesday declared that in spite of the various challenges, the Nigerian economy remained strong.
They, however, confirmed that there has been an increased loss of revenues due to an upsurge in the incidence of illegal crude oil bunkering and oil theft.

The clarification on the status of the economy coincided with the revelation by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, that the National Assembly will soon be in receipt of the 2013 Budget Amendment Bill that will address the grey areas in the budget assented to by President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday.
A statement issued by the finance minister’s Special Adviser, Media, Mr. Paul Nwbuikwu, also clarified the discrepancies in the account balances in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) reported by the ministry and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
According to the statement, specific issues have been raised in recent times on the health and prospects of the Nigerian economy, the composition of the external reserves, and purported discrepancies in account balances reported by the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the ECA.
“First, the Nigerian economy is strong.  Our economic performance is robust when viewed against a whole range of objective factors.
“Inflation is now down to single-digit at 9.0 per cent in January 2013, compared with 12.6 per cent in January 2012. The exchange rate has been relatively stable, and the fiscal deficit at just under 2 per cent of GDP is on a downward trajectory, and below our threshold of 3 per cent of GDP.
“Our national debt is at a sustainable level at about 19.4 per cent of GDP. Overall, GDP growth for 2012 was 6.5 per cent, and projected at 6.75 per cent for 2013, compared with the projected global growth of 3.5 per cent.
“The above facts have been independently noted and validated by international ratings agencies such as Fitch, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s which have upgraded the country’s economic outlook, even as other countries are being downgraded.
“In addition, Nigeria’s bonds have recently been included in the Barclays and JP Morgan Emerging Market indexes,” the minister said.
Source