Nigeria’s GDP expands by 1.87% amid global challenges

Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 1.87% in the first quarter of 2020, according to the National Bureau of Statistics has shown.

The bureau, in the report which was released on Monday, said the economy reflected the earliest signs of disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This performance was recorded against the backdrop of significant global disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 public health crisis, a sharp fall in oil prices and restricted international trade,” the report read.

“The performance recorded in Q1 2020 represents a drop of –0.23% points compared to Q1 2019 and –0.68% points compared to Q4 2019, reflecting the earliest effects of the disruption, particularly on the non-oil economy.

“Quarter on quarter, real GDP growth was –14.27% compared to 5.59% recorded in the preceding quarter.

“In real terms, the non-oil sector grew by 1.55%, slower by –0.93% points compared to the rate recorded during the same quarter of 2019, and –0.72% points slower than the fourth quarter of 2019.”

The non-oil sector was reported to have contributed 90.50% to the nation’s GDP in the first quarter of 2020, less than its share in the first quarter of 2019 which was 90.78% and the fourth quarter of 2019 recorded as 92.68%.

The non-oil sector was driven mainly by information and communication (telecommunications), financial and insurance (financial institutions), agriculture (crop production), mining and quarrying (crude petroleum & natural gas), and construction

Activities that witnessed weaker performance relative to Q1 2019 include quarrying, road transport, accommodation and food services as well as real estate.

During the first quarter of 2020, the NBS reported average daily oil production of 2.07 million barrels per day (mbpd), higher than the 1.99mbpd recorded in Q1 2019 by 0.08mbpd and the fourth quarter of 2019 by 0.06mbpd.