The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Pantami has expressed satisfaction at the remarkable contribution of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2022.
Reacting to the ‘Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product Report’ for Q2 2022, released by the National Bureau of Statistics on August 26 and indicating that the ICT sector contributed 18.44% to the total GDP in Q2 2022, the Minister noted that the growth of the sector was as a result of the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to the development of the digital economy.
In a statement signed by the Technical assistant to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy,
Femi Adeluyi, Pantami said the unprecedented contribution of ICT to Nigeria’s GDP can also be attributed to the dynamic and results-oriented leadership of the sector.
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 the achievement.
“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.
“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 Honourable Minister- 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” Pantami said.
The Minister therefore congratulated all stakeholders in the digital economy ecosystem for the cheering news. While 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 he noted would enhance the output of all the sectors of the economy and boost Nigeria’s GDP.
