The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), has said that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in the second quarter of 2020 (Q2 2020), showed 17.83 per cent contribution by the Information, Communication and Technology sector. A statement signed by Dr Femi Adeluyi, Technical Assistant, Information Technology, said the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, expressed delight to hear of the growth of Information Communications Technology’s (ICT) contribution to Nigeria’s GDP. According to the NBS, Nigeria’s GDP decreased by minus six to10 per cent, year-on-year, in real terms in the second quarter of 2020.
The decrease was largely attributable to significantly lower levels of both domestic and international economic activity during the quarter, which resulted from nationwide shutdown efforts aimed at containing the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The non-oil sector contributed 91.07 per cent to the nation’s GDP in Q2 2020 as opposed to the 8.93 per cent contributed to total real GDP by the oil sector.
“It is worthy to note that the ICT sector contributed 17.83 per cent to the total real GDP in Q2 2020, 20.54 per cent higher than its contribution a year earlier and in the preceding quarter, in which it accounted for 14.07 per cent. This contribution is unprecedented.” In the statement, the Minister noted that the growing contribution of the ICT sector to the GDP was a direct result of the focused and committed effort of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. He said that the strategic policy directions of the Federal Government included the inclusion of Digital Economy in the mandate of the Ministry, the unveiling and implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy and the National Broadband Plan, among others.
“As at July 2020, the broadband penetration in the country was 42.02 per cent, translating to a percentage increase of almost double digits in less than one year. This is another remarkable achievement.
“The unprecedented contribution of ICT to Nigeria’s GDP can also be attributed to dynamic and results-oriented leadership which has been acknowledged and appreciated by a wide spectrum of the stakeholders in the sector. The support of President Buhari has contributed immensely to the impressive developments in the sector. Mr President is excited about the growth of the sector and commended the Minister when he heard of these achievements. 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 statement said. It said that the Minister called on all sectors to take advantage of the government’s new focus on the digital economy to enable and improve their processes through the use of ICTs, which would enhance the output of all the sectors of the economy and boost Nigeria’s GDP. (NAN)
