Minister hails stakeholders as telecoms shines in fresh 19.54 percent ICT contribution to Nigeria’s GDP

*Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, Minister for Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, applauds the new 19.54 percent Telecoms and ICT

contribution to Nigeria’s GDP Q2 2023, urging consumers, industry stakeholders, and the country’s partners to ‘connect with good trajectory for our sector’ that is critical to GDP growth

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

As the telecoms sub-sector continues to drive and dominate lots of activities in other sectors of the Nigerian economy, Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, new Honourable Minister for Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, has urged Nigerian consumers, stakeholders, and the country’s partners to “connect with good trajectory for our sector which is critical to our GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth.

ConsumerConnect reports the Telecoms and Information and Communications Technology’s (ICT) sector in the West African country contributed 19.54 percent to Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) second quarter (Q2) 2023.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is the foremost regulator of the telecommunications sector of the economy.

Dr. Tijani, while commending the stakeholders on the feat in a recent post via his verified social media account, applauded the ICT industry’s considerable contribution to Nigeria’s GDP growth second quarter report this year, by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The Minister wrote: “We need to build on this by continuing to grow our digital economy. #NigerianExcellence.”

On the performance of ICT and telecoms industry in the economy, the 19.54 percent contribution to GDP Q2 this year would represent a marked increase, compared to the 18.44 percent the sector recorded in the same period 2022.

Telecoms leads the pack in ICT sector Q2 2023

The ICT sector of the economy comprises the four activities of Telecommunications and Information Services; Publishing; Motion Picture, Sound Recording, and Music Production; and Broadcasting, report said.

The telecoms industry, which is dominated by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), including Globacom, MTN Nigeria, Airtel Networks, 9mobile, and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), is said to have been driving a lot of activities in every other sector of the Nigerian economy.

The NBS, in the Q2 GDP statistics, averred that quarter on quarter, the sector also recorded a growth in real GDP contribution when compared to the 17.47 percent it achieved Q1 this year.

According to the regulatory agency, as the ICT sector recorded a growth rate of 11.64 percent in real terms year-on-year in the quarter under review, activities in the telecoms sub-sector largely drove growth and contributed 16.06 percent to the GDP in the real term.

The closest sub-sector to telecoms in the ICT sector in terms of contribution was Broadcasting, which added 2.59 percent, stated the NBS.

Besides, the sector also contributed 14.83 percent to the total Nominal GDP in the second quarter of 2023, 12.12 percent recorded in the same quarter of 2022, and higher than the 13.23 percent it contributed to the preceding quarter.

In nominal terms, the sector recorded 41.67 percent growth in the quarter under review, a 27.56 percent increase from the rate of 14.11 percent recorded in the same quarter of 2022, and 0.17 percent points lower than the rate recorded in the preceding quarter in the economy.

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