By Nosa Akenzua
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has attributed the 51 percent increase in the state’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, between 2015 and 2019 to the friendly policies and youth agricultural entrepreneurship programme of his administration.
The state’s economy was this week reported to have appreciated by 51 percent in four years with a GDP of N4.471 trillion in 2019 from N2:961 trillion in 2015 with crude oil and gas playing less significant role in driving the economic growth.
From N1:221trillion in.2015, representing 50.34 percent of the state’s GDP, the oil and gas sector component dropped to 47.11percent in 2019, even though the actual figure rose to N2.115 trillion. This means that the period saw a corresponding lift in the fortunes of the non-oil sectors which played a more decisive role in driving economic growth in the state.
According to the latest report by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, NBS, on Delta State’s economy for four years, the contribution of the non-oil sectors to the state’s GDP rose from N1.74 trillion in 2015 to N2.356 trillion in 2019.
In NBS’ poverty ranking on the 36 states of the federation, Delta State was adjudged the second least poor state in Nigeria in 2021 from 12th position in 2020.
Governor Okowa said that, “The impressive poverty ranking is the outcome of interplay of factors, including efficient public resources management, sound economic policies, effective sector intervention, social and youth targeted job and wealth creation programmes.”
According to the governor, agriculture had consistently grown by 13 percent year on year , adding that Agriculture GDP rose from N4:32 billion in 2015 to N583 billion in 2019 an increase of 35 percent and attributed the growth in agriculture output to the effect of value chain development coupled with youth agricultural entrepreneurship programme of his administration.
Similarly, construction GDP recorded a sharp rise as the figure for 2015 rose from N38.98 billion to N54.749 billion in 2019.
“We have spent an excess of close to N400 billion in terms of contracts awarded on roads and civil infrastructure. We have over 1,500 Kilometers of roads awarded and 60 to 70 percent of them completed. We have over 700 Kilometers of drains and over 60 percent of them completed. We have 22 bridges under construction, six of which have been completed and 15 as work in progress,” he added.