The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) described as remarkable, the rating of Nigeria as the third fastest growing economy in the world.

President of the chamber, Mr Muda Yusuf, told the newsmen in Lagos that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth performance of 7.68 per cent was commendable.

The Minister of State for Finance, Dr Yerima Ngama, had said on April 10 that Nigeria’s performance was third behind Mongolia with 14.9 per cent and China with 8.4 per cent.

According to Ngama, Nigeria posted a GDP growth rate of 8.4 per cent in 2010 but dropped to 7.68 per cent in 2011 because of the negative growth in the oil sector.

He also said that the sectors generating the growth were the telecommunications, oil and gas as well as the service industry, adding that they, however, were not creating many jobs.

Yusuf said the growth rate was commendable because it came at a time when the global economy was projected to grow at less than two per cent.

He said that comments by critics that the growth in the GDP was not translating into a better life for Nigerians was a challenge for the national economic management team.

Yusuf said that the reason was that the sectors had poor linkages to the rest of the economy, noting that good linkages created multiplier effects with benefits.

He also said that the sectors had poor local value addition as most of the materials and labour input were imported.

For the GDP growth to translate into jobs, Yusuf said that the Federal Government should address structural bottlenecks such as energy, transportation and funding.

He said that that would reduce the cost of production and operations as well as engender competitiveness.

Also commenting, Cash Craft Assets Management Ltd, Mr Ayodeji Fagbenle, the General Manager, said that the country desired growth.

He pointed out that such growth must identify and generate economic activities which would lift people out of poverty.

He wondered how Nigeria could be the third fastest growing economy in the world when Nigerians still lived in abject poverty, with more than 70 per cent below the poverty level.

Fagbenle said that when an economy experienced growth, most of the development indices should automatically witness positive changes, adding that the reverse was the case with Nigeria.

He called for an improvement in the power sector to boost manufacturing.

“There must be stable electricity that will drive production and a deliberate effort to stimulate the manufacturing sector,’’ he said.

He urged the Federal Government to work harder to engender economic growth that would bring about development and impact positively on the people’s standard of living.