Wreaked by insecurity for 3 years and misinterpreted by some of its people and outsiders, Imo State, under Governor Hope Uzodimma, has emerged the fourth largest economy in Nigeria, and number one in the South-East region.
According to BUdgiT, a prominent Nigerian Civic Organisation that employs technology to simplyfy public spending, budgets, and governance data for citizens, Imo came fourth after,Lagos, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.
Whereas Lagos posted N41.17 trillion Naira in GDP under the peroiod under review, Rivers had N7.9 trillion, Akwa Ibom N7.77 trillion while Imo had N7.68 trillion.
Interestingly, Imo was ahead of Delta, a big oil producing state which GDP was put at N6.19 trillion.
Anambra state came a distant 6th with N5.14 trillion while the other 30 states trailed behind.
BudgiT noted that Nigeria’s economic output varies significantly by states, driven by commerce, industry ,and natural resources.
Lagos derived its GDP from being the commercial and financial nerve centre of Nigeria while Rivers and Akwa Ibom depended on oil and gas and petroleum products.
On the other hand, Imo, which has the largest deposit of gas in Nigeria, has lately started diversifying its economy through far-reaching initiatives that encourage investments in several sectors.
Only recently, Governor Uzodimma convoked the first ever Imo Economic Summit, which brought business leaders from across the world to the state where they were intimated of the investment opportunities in the State.
In the last two years, Imo has attracted a number of investments in the banking and oil and gas sectors
