Economy maintains moderate growth despite challenges, up by 3.5% in Q4

Nigeria’s economy grew 3.46 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023, sustaining the third consecutive expansion since President Bola Tinubu assumed office as president.

The new administration’s economic reforms such as the removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of the exchange rate have exacerbated the economic crises, especially the elevated inflation rate.

Experts see the sustained growth as shown by the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) yesterday as a sign the economy is picking up slowly on the expectation that the faithful implementation of the reform measures by the current administration will ultimately impact positively on the economy.

Though the fourth quarter growth was lower than the 3.52 per cent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022, it was higher than the two previous quarters of 2023.

According to the NBS, the economy grew from 2.51 per cent in the second quarter of last year and 2.54 per cent in the third quarter but surpassed three per cent in the last quarter, which is usually affected by seasonal activities.

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

The agriculture sector grew by 2.1 per cent, from the growth of 2.05 per cent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The industry sector recorded a major leap, growing by 3.86 percent, up from -0.94 per cent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Professor Godwin Oyedokun of Lead City University, Oyo State, said apart from the fact that there was an increase in the oil price some of the policy reforms of the current administration are impacting the economy positively.

“Nigeria is a major oil-producing country and if global oil prices have increased, this could lead to a boost in the country’s GDP as oil exports are a significant source of revenue for the country.”