President Goodluck Jonathan has described the successful rebasing of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on Sunday, which made Nigeria overtake South Africa as Africa’s largest economy, as the collective achievement of all Nigerians.
Information Nigeria reports that the rebase puts Nigeria’s GDP at $510 billion and catapults the economy to number 26 in the world.
In a statement posted on his Facebook wall, the president noted that Nigeria’s Per Capita Income had increased by over 60% from $1091 in 2009 to $1700 in 2013, prior to the rebasing. However, he stressed that more work needs to be done to uplift the standard of living of Nigerians, majority of who live in abject poverty.
“While this calls for celebration, I personally cannot celebrate until all Nigerians can feel the positive impact of our growth. There are still too many of our citizens living in poverty”, he wrote.
Jonathan recalled that “Three years ago, I was asked to define Transformation and I said ‘Transformation in my view simply means taking what you have and making the best of it and in so doing produce results that can bring about a paradigm shift’.
“That positive paradigm shift, as occurred yesterday, is still a work in progress.
“Regardless of our present challenges, our place as a nation at the table of greatness is assured”, he concluded.
