Indications that the Federal and State Governments’ drives to improve non-oil sector’s contributions to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) are yielding the desired results have emerged with the GDP value growing by 1.5 percent in the second quarter of this year.
The growth, which remained the highest since Nigeria’s exit from recession, was driven by the non-oil sector.
In its report on the Gross Domestic Product for the 2nd Quarter 2018 published today, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) noted that the non-oil sector grew by 2.05% representing the strongest growth in non-oil GDP since Q4 2015.
The agency disclosed that the Non-oil GDP growth which was -0.18 percent in Q1 2016, -0.38 percent in Q2 2016, 0.03 percent in Q3 2016, -0.33 percent in Q4 2016, 0.72 percent in Q1 2017, 0.45 percent in Q2 2017, -0.76 percent in Q3 2017, 1.45 percent in Q4 2017and 0.76 percent in Q1 2018 grew strongly in Q2 2018 by 2.05 percent.
The Bureau attributed non-oil sector’s growth largely to growth in transportation, rising to 21.76 percent, which was complemented by growth in construction, which grew by 7.66 percent and electricity which grew by 7.59 percent.
The official statistics producing agency stated that other non-oil sectors that drove growth in Q2 2018 include telecommunication, which grew by 11.51 percent, water supply and sewage which grew by 11.98 percent and broadcasting, which grew by 21.92 percent.
It noted, however, that the growth in the non oil sector was constrained by Agriculture, which recorded 1.3 percent growth compared to its 3 percent growth in the first quarter this year and 3.01 percent in Q2 2017.
The NBS noted further that the Q2, 2018 GDP growth was constrained also by the oil GDP, with crude oil and gas production contracting by -3.95 percent compared to 14.77 percent in Q1 2018 and 3.53 percent in Q2 2017
The agency stated also that Services sector GDP in the second quarter of this year recorded its best performance in nine consecutive quarters, growing by 2.12 percent in the preceding quarter compared to -0.47 percent in Q1 2018 and -0.85 percent in Q2 2017
