Abuja — Nigeria has exited its worst economic recession in more than two decades, notching up growth of 0.55% in the second quarter of 2017, the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Tuesday. Data showed that the economic recovery was driven by improved performance in the oil, agriculture, manufacturing and trade sectors of the economy. Since the first quarter of 2016, the Nigerian economy had contracted for five consecutive quarters, NBS said. The west African powerhouse slipped into recession for the first time in more than two decades in August 2016. "In the second quarter of 2017, the nation’s GDP grew by 0.55% (year on year) in real terms, indicating the emergence of the economy from recession after five consecutive quarters of contraction since quarter one of 2016," it said. Nigeria, which depends on the oil sector for 70% of state revenues and 90% of export earnings, has been battered by lower oil prices since mid-2014, which have slashed government revenues, ...
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