By Peter OBIORA InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday projected the Nigerian economy is likely to grow 6.21 percent according to forecast by the statistics office.

NBS report said the 6.21 percent would be faster than growth last year, which was revised down to 5.5 percent last week.

In the first quarter of 2014, the Nigerian economy grew 6.21 percent in Q1 2014, higher than 4.45 percent recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2013, but lower than 6.77 percent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2013.

The 6.21 percent economic expansion was driven by the services sector which accounted for half of the real GDP in Q1 2014, expanding 7.2 percent in January-March from the previous year, decelerating from an 8.7 percent rise in the previous quarter.

The NBS reported that the average daily crude oil production in the opening quarter of 2014 stood at 2.26mbpd, down from the 2.29mbpd recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2013. In Q1 2014, oil GDP was valued at N2, 612,066.21 million in nominal terms, compared to N2, 756,313.26 recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2013.

Nigeria in early April overtook South Africa as Africa’s largest economy after a rebasing of its gross domestic product data for the first time in 20 years and GDP doubled close to 80 trillion naira ($488 billion) for 2013, Yemi Kale, NBS chief had said in a press conference.