The Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) has said Nigeria’s Real Gross Domestic Product (RGDP) growth will average at 2.98 per cent in 2023 just as it said employment rate could reach 37%.
The NESG stated this yesterday in Abuja during the virtual launch of the 2023 macroeconomic outlook report for the Nigeria economy titled “Nigeria in Transition: Recipes for Shared Prosperity.”
Dr. Olusegun Omisakin, head of research at NESG in a presentation, projects that Nigeria’s unemployment rate which currently stands at 33 per cent will rise to 37 per cent in 2023.
The 2.98% aligns with that of World Bank but lower than the 3.75% projected for the 2023 budget.
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As efforts to contain crude oil theft in Nigeria intensify, crude oil production will average 1.35 million barrels per day in 2023, the report had explained.
“The unemployment rate will increase to 37% and the poverty headcount will amplify to 45% due to weak performance in the job-elastic sectors, low labour absorption of sectors that will drive growth, and population growth estimated at 3.2 percent will lead to a decline in real per capita income,” it added.
The group further stated that the inflation rate will average 20.5 per cent in 2023.
Shubham Chaudhuri, Country Director for Nigeria, World Bank said for the government to end extreme poverty, there must be finances for adequate investments.
“These ensure that private enterprises are empowered, not to start but to grow and flourish and create the jobs that provide the economic opportunities that are important,” he said.
By Vincent Nwanma & Philip Shimnom Clement