‘Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product Report’ for the second quarter of 2022, which was released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) two days ago shows the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector contributes 18.44percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
This is the highest contribution of the ICT sector to the economy so far, an indication that the sector has continued its trend of playing a key part in the growth of Nigeria’s economy.
According to the figures released by NBS, the oil sector contributed 6.33% to the total real GDP in Q2 2022, which was lower that the contribution in Q2 ‘2021 and Q1 ‘2022, where it contributed 7.42% and 6.63% respectively. The non-oil sector’s contribution grew by 4.77% in real terms, resulting in a 93.67% contribution to the nation’s GDP in the Q2 ‘2022, higher than Q2 ‘2021 and Q2 ‘2022, where it contributed 92.58% and 93.37% respectively.
Meanwhile, an elated Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami has said the 18.44 percent contribution is truly unprecedented and marks the third time that the sector has achieved an unprecedented contribution to Nigeria’s GDP.
He attributed the growing contribution of the ICT sector to the GDP to the commitment of the federal government to develop the digital economy by implementing the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria.
“Stakeholder engagement and creation of an enabling environment have all played an important role in this achievement. The support of President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has contributed immensely to the impressive developments in the sector. The unprecedented contribution of ICT to Nigeria’s GDP can also be attributed to the dynamic and results-oriented leadership of the sector. The GDP Report has shown how critical the ICT sector is to the growth of our country’s digital economy and, by extension, the general economy,” he said.
While congratulating all stakeholders in the digital economy ecosystem for this cheering news, Prof. Pantami renews the call to all sectors to take advantage of the Federal Government’s new focus on the digital economy to enable and improve their processes through the use of ICTs.