The world is watching to see what President Muhammadu Buhari’s election victory will mean for the economy of Africa’s largest nation, but the early verdict is uninspiring.
According to Bloomberg Economics, the president election win will probably mean continued political interference in Nigeria’s economy and slower growth.
Also economists at Nigeria’s FBN Quest say they expect more of the same – over centralization of decision making and slow growth for Nigeria.
Bloomberg Economics, BE says the opening of the Egina offshore oilfield this year and the Dangote refinery in 2020 will deliver a near-term boost for the continent’s largest economy, but low capital investment is likely to inhibit growth over the medium term.
Ethiopia is leading the economic revival in the continent with a fast pace growth anchored on breathtaking reforms by the government but BE expects Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, to keep losing ground in real GDP per capita against its peers in sub-Saharan Africa.
Nigeria which is fighting a worrying high unemployment rate has recently been named the poverty capital of the world and there is no better show of its economic failing like the near absence of badly needed investment into the life- saving oil sector on account of poor fiscal rules and uncertainty.
According to a note send out Thursday morning, FBN Quest said, “the leopard is not expected to change its spots. Investors hopeful that growth rates will return to those of the early 2010s will have to be patient.”
