Analysts Give Tips on Economic Recovery as Nigeria Exits Recession GDP grows by 0.11% in Q4 James Emejo in Abuja and Nume Ekeghe in Lagos Analysts yesterday called on the federal government to implement the 2021 budget to boost infrastructural
development, ensure policy consistency and proper management of the COVID-19 pandemic in order to sustain the gradual recovery of the economy. The advice came on a
day the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its ‘Nigerian Gross Domestic Product Report - Q4 & Full Year 2020,’ released yesterday, showed that the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) recorded a
positive growth rate of 0.11 per cent (year-on-year) in real terms in the fourth quarter of 2020 (Q4 2020), successfully lifting the economy out of recession. The economy had slumped
into recession last year, the second in five years, after two consecutive quarters of contraction. The economy entered into a recession last year when growth contracted by 3.62
per cent in Q3 and grew by -6.10 per cent in Q2. According to the NBS, Nigeria’s GDP grew by 0.11 per cent (year-on-year) in real Continued on page 9
NAFDAC Approves AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine for Emergency Use... Page 8 Friday 19 February, 2021 Vol 26. No 9448. Price: N250
www.thisdaylive.com TR
UT H
& RE A S O
N
Security Agencies Intensify Search for Kagara KidnappedVictims Abducted pupils, others identified Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja and Laleye Dipo in Minna The search for the 42 people, including 27 pupils that bandits kidnapped on Wednesday
from Government Science College, Kagara in Niger State continued yesterday with the reinforcement of security operatives on the trail of the abductors.
A statement by the Force PRO, Mr. Frank Mba, a commissioner of police, said the police had deployed additional tactical, investigative and intelligence
assets, including police aerial helicopter, in support of the rescue effort. It said the Commissioner of Police, Niger State Command, Mr. Usman
Adamu, is coordinating the search-and-rescue operation in collaboration with other security agencies. The statement quoted the Inspector-General of Police, Mr.
Mohammed Adamu, as saying that the police, the military and intelligence agencies were conducting a massive Continued on page 47
Watch Your Utterances, Abdulsalami Cautions Govs, Warns against Civil War States' helmsmen demand prosecution of criminals To dedicate part of ECA to security Chuks Okocha in Abuja, Eromosele Abiodun and Nume Ekeghe The Chairman of the National Peace Committee (NPC) and Nigeria’s former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), has cautioned state governors to be more temperate in their utterances in order not to instigate civil unrest in the nation that is on the edge of an inter-ethnic conflagration. He spoke yesterday on ‘The Morning Show,’ the flagship breakfast programme on ARISE NEWS Channel, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, and called on the federal government and Nigerians to ensure that peace reigns in the country so as to avoid another civil war. Abdulsalami, in his second
intervention to douse tensions arising from ethnic conflicts that have aggravated the security challenges facing the nation, said the circumstances that led to the civil war from 1967 to 1970, were similar to ongoing occurrences, adding that tackling insecurity must be the priority of the government to avoid another civil war. The former head of state’s admonishment came two days after he called on Nigerians to stop trading blame and focus on ending the current ethnic clashes, which he described as unfortunate. Abdulsalami at a press conference in Minna, capital of Niger State, on Tuesday, had expressed concern that the clashes are adding to the challenges of insurgency, Continued on page 9
Defence Minister under Fire over Call for Self-defence.. Page 5
THE GOVS… L-R: Governors Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), and Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos) during the National Economic Council meeting in Abuja…yesterday