Information and Communication Technology (ICT) contributed 18.44% to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) within the second quarter of 2022.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stated this in the ‘Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product Report’ for Q2 2022, released on the 26th of August,2022.
In line with NBS, the ICT sector consists of 4 actions – Telecommunications and Info Companies; Publishing; Movement Image, Sound Recording and Music Manufacturing; and Broadcasting. The sector’s progress was pushed largely by actions within the telecommunications sub-sector, which contributed 9.49% to the GDP.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Pantami while reacting described the remarkable contribution of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2022 (Q2 2022) as unprecedented.
The Technical Assistant to the Minister, Dr. Femi Adeluyi who disclosed this in a statement in Abuja said the sector under Professor Pantami has continued its trend of playing a key part in the growth on Nigeria’s economy.
“This is the highest contribution of ICT to the GDP and is truly unprecedented and marks the third time that the sector has achieved an unprecedented contribution to Nigeria’s GDP during the tenure of the Minister in Q1 2020, Q2 2021 and now Q2 2022”.
According to the Minister,”The oil sector contributed 6.33% to the total real GDP in Q2 2022, which was lower than 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”.
Professor Pantami explained that the growing contribution of the ICT sector to the GDP is as a result of the commitment of the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration to the development of the digital economy.
“The diligent implementation of 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, 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”.
The Minister congratulated all stakeholders in the digital economy ecosystem for this cheering news.
He called on all sectors to take advantage of Nigeria’s Government’s new focus on the digital economy to enable and improve their processes through the use of ICTs, adding that “this would enhance the output of all the sectors of the economy and boost Nigeria’s GDP.”
Emmanuel Ukoh
