Nigeria's economy grows steadily as oil output rises

 

President Tinubu

Nigeria's economy grew 3.46 per cent in the fourth quarter, a similar pace as it did a year earlier, data showed on Thursday, as oil output picked up and government reforms to boost growth began to take effect.

The effect is, however, yet to be felt by ordinary Nigerians as the poor grapple with high cost of food stuffs which has led to malnutrition in many homes.

Gross domestic product grew quicker than in the two previous quarters of 2023. Gross Domestic Products (GDP_ grew 2.54 per cent in the third quarter and 2.51 per cent in the second.

Growth in the final quarter of 2022 was 3.52 per cent in annual terms.

The pickup in growth came as reforms instituted by President Bola Tinubu, who pledged during his inauguration in May to expand the economy by at least six per cent annually, began to take effect.

Tinubu made bold changes including ending a costly fuel subsidy and devaluing the country's naira currency twice in less than a year to try to lift sluggish growth.

But these reforms have stoked price pressures, sending inflation to almost 30 per cent in January, its the highest in nearly three decades.

President Tinubu said during a November budget speech that the economy was expected to grow by at least 3.76 per cent in 2024.

The National Bureau of Statistics said full-year growth for 2023 stood at 2.74 per cent

"The performance of the GDP in the fourth quarter of 2023 was driven mainly by the services sector, which recorded a growth of 3.98 per cent and contributed 56.55 per cent to the aggregate GDP," the statistics office said.

Growth in the agriculture and industrial sectors, which create jobs, improved marginally during the period, compared with a year ago, the data showed.

Average daily oil output rose to 1.55 million barrels per day, up from 1.34 million a year ago.

Nigeria relies on oil production for about two-thirds of government earnings and 90 per cent of its foreign exchange income.

"The real growth of the oil sector was 12.11 per cent year-on-year in Q4 2023, indicating an increase of 25.5 per cent points relative to the rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2022 at -13.38 per cent, the statistics office said.