From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Federal Government, yesterday, has attributed the cash crunch suffered by Nigerians in the first quarter of 2023 as the reason for the growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2.31 per cent (year-on-year) in real terms.
A statement obtained from the website of National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed that the growth rate declined from 3.11 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2022, and 3.52 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022.
According to NBS, the reduction in growth is attributed to the adverse effects of the cash crunch experienced during the quarter.
The performance of the GDP in the first quarter of 2023 was driven mainly by the services sector, which recorded a growth of 4.35 per cent and contributed 57.29 per cent to the aggregate GDP.
The agriculture sector, NBS said, grew by -0.90 per cent, lower than the growth of 3.16 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2022.
“Although, the growth of the industry sector improved to 0.31 per cent relative to – 6.81 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2022, agriculture, and the industry sectors contributed less to the aggregate GDP in the quarter under review compared to the first quarter of 2022.
“In the quarter under review, aggregate GDP stood at N51,242,151.21 million in nominal terms. This performance is higher when compared to the first quarter of 2022 which recorded aggregate GDP of N45,317,823.33 million, indicating a year-on-year nominal growth of 13.07 per cent. For better clarity, the Nigerian economy has been classified broadly into the oil and non-oil sectors” it said.
The bureau also said that the nation in the first quarter of 2023 recorded an average daily oil production of 1.51 million barrels per day (mbpd), higher than the daily average production of 1.49mbpd recorded in the same quarter of 2022 by 0.01mbpd and higher than the fourth quarter of 2022 production volume of 1.34 mbpd by 0.17mbpd.
On the non-oil sector, the bureau noted that it grew by 2.77 per cent in real terms during the reference quarter (Q1 2023).
“This rate was
lower by 3.30 per cent points compared to the rate recorded in the same quarter of 2022 and 1.67 per cent points
lower than the fourth quarter of 2022. This sector was driven in the first quarter of 2023 mainly by
Information and Communication (Telecommunication); Financial and Insurance (Financial
Institutions); Trade; Manufacturing (Food, Beverage & Tobacco); Construction; and Transportation & Storage (Road Transport), accounting for positive GDP growth. In real terms, the non-oil sector contributed 93.79 per cent to the nation’s GDP in the first quarter of 2023, higher than the share recorded in the first quarter of 2022 which was 93.37 per cent and lower than the fourth quarter of 2022.
