Minister Pantami jubilates as NBS confirms 18.44% ICT’s contribution to GDP

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami is excited by the contribution of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2022 (Q2 2022).

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) broke the news yesterday, August 26, in the ‘Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product Report’ for Q2 2022.

According to the NBS report, Digital Economy sector under Professor Pantami, continued its trend of playing a key part in the growth on Nigeria’s economy.

The Report by the NBS indicated that the ICT sector contributed 18.44% to the total real GDP in Q2 2022. This is the highest contribution of ICT to the GDP which is said to be unprecedented and marks the third time that the sector has achieved such contribution to Nigeria’s GDP. Others were in Q1 2020, Q2 2021 and now Q2 2022.

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.

Minister Pantami said that the growing contribution of the ICT sector to the GDP is as a result of the commitment of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to the development of the digital economy.

He added that 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, 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.”

The Minister congratulateed all stakeholders in the digital economy ecosystem for this news even as he  renewed his 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.

“This would enhance the output of all the sectors of the economy and boost Nigeria’s GDP.”