Nigeria’s rising misery index poses greater challenge for citizens BY BONNY AMADI
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s Nigerians continue to celebrate the gains of gross domestic product (GDP) growth, the ballooning misery index of the country poses greater challenge for the people and the overall economy.
Revealing this recently in Lagos, foremost Economist and former vice chancellor of the University of Uyo, Professor Akpan Hogan Ekpo said. Professor Ekpo, in his lecture titled, “Diversification, path to sustainable growth in Nigeria” at the me-dian
Nigerian Eminent persons and corporate Award ceremony (NEPAC) hosted by Businessupdate, said that while Nigeria’s GDP is recording growth, the country’s misery index has also continued to bal-loon, adding that the country’s GDP growth has not positively
Vol. 05 No. 264
NOVEMBER 12 - 16, 2018
impacted development. Revealing that the nation’s misery index which as at 2006 stood at 34.5 per cent, rose to 87 Percent in 2017 and further to 90 per cent in 2018, points to a weakening standard of living and sustained rising cost of living for the people.
Arguing that the country’s misery index has not always been taken into reckoning while reporting GDP growth rate and inflation, Professor Ekpo said that the rising ratio of revenue to debt, further worsens the citizen’s plight, as little funds would be available to provide essential needs and
infrastructures for the people. He said “’ if we are to be honest, the economy is not doing fine, which is why the unemployment growth rate exceeded GDP growth. Growth is not development, if your DGP is growing and
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‘Investors exit put pressure on Naira’ BY NIYI JACOBS & JULIUS ALAGBE
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he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has recently raised the official exchange rate from N305.70 to N306.60, while exter-nal reserves funds available to supporting the local currency is on decline, as the apex bank demands for more Naira in exchange for a unit of dollar. The continuous decline in external reserves in addition to foreign investors’
bearish sentiment are not helping as Naira continues to face undue pressure on the foreign exchange. In the recent time, two foreign banks left Nigeria citing the inability to relate properly with the CBN FX strategy among other issues. The nation’s external reserve is also on declining as CBN devalued Naira from N305.70 to N306.60 as indicated on the apex bank website.
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‘Strike can’t take place until provisions of Trade Disputes Act fulfilled’
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Budget, Evaluating FG’s Decision to sell National Assets Page 10 Industrial activities rise in October on robust new orders flows - CBN Page 4
Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed with Mr Tony Attah, MD/CEO of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) when NLNG management team visited the Minister in Abuja.
PDP alleges physical harassment on Atiku at airport Mischievous attempt to grab headlines – FG
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he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, was harassed by some security agents at the Abuja airport on his return from Dubai. The party said this in
a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, on Sunday in Abuja. Ologbondiyan alleged that it was shocking when the “deadly squad” acting on ‘orders from above’ rushed Atiku immediately
he landed at the airport. But the Minister of State, Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, has dismissed PDP’s allegation of intimidation on its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, by the security operatives on arrival
World Market Themes for the Week
from Dubai on Sunday. Reacting to the allegation in a statement, Sirika, however, described Atiku’s complaint as a mischie-vous attempt aimed at attracting media attention, saying the search conducted on Atiku
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