3.54% GDP: Telecoms, 5 Other Sectors Save Nigerian Economy From Crashing, As Oil Industry Shrinks Again

Telecommunication, Trade, and other non-oil sectors came to the rescue of Nigeria’s economy, as the oil sector contract in size in the second quarter (Q2) of 2022, extending its depreciation from the first quarter (Q1) of this year.

In the first quarter, the oil sector had dip 26.04%, but while the decrease slowed in Q2 this year, the sector fell by 11.77% year-on-year, with the Nigerian economy depending on the non-oil sector to sustain its growth.

Although the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 3.54% in the second quarter, but was burdened by the dip in the oil sector, causing the GDP to fall –1.47% below the 5.01% growth rate recorded during the same period last year.

The non-oil sector contributed 93.67% to the nation’s GDP after rising by 4.77% during the period in review, thanks to positive growth from Trade, Agriculture, Financial and Insurance, as well as the Information and Communication sector (Telecommunication).

Other non-oil sector that aided the growth of the GDP are Manufacturing (Food, Beverage & Tobacco), and the Transportation (Road Transport), according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday.

However, their positive growth wasn’t enough to prevent the non-oil sector from falling -1.97% lower when compared to the rate reported in Q2 2021. It also dip -1.31% in comparison with the first quarter of this year.

But in terms of contribution to the gross domestic product, the non-oil sector’s 93.67% for Q2 2022 surpassed the 92.58% and 93.37% reported in the second quarter of 2021 and first quarter of 2022 respectively.