Economy
FG Projects 4.2% GDP Growth, 13% Inflation Rate in 2022
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has projected a rise of 4.2 per cent in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2022 and a decline in the inflation rate to 13 per cent.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, gave these projections at the public consultation on the Draft 2022 to 2024 Medium Term Fiscal Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTFF/FSP) on Thursday.
Mrs Ahmed said the GDP projected in 2021, to close at three per cent, had been adjusted downwards to close at 2.5 per cent.
“In 2022, we are expecting an uptake to 4.2 per cent, then a dip to 2.3 per cent in 2023 and up to 3.3 per cent in 2024,” she said.
The Minister further said the nominal GDP projected for 2022 is N184.38 trillion, up from N168.6 trillion in 2021, and then to N201 trillion in 2023 and N222 trillion in 2024.
She also said the inflation rate is expected to drop slightly to 13 per cent in 2022 from 15 per cent in 2021, noting that the increase in inflation was due to the exchange rate.
“Inflation rate, which was planned for 11.95 per cent in 2021, has been reflected in reality because the exchange rate is high. The average we have so far is 15 per cent.
“We are expecting 2022 to go down slightly to 13 per cent, then 11 per cent in 2023 and 10 per cent in 2024,” Mrs Ahmed stated.
She, however, said the federal government has put the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Rate Fixing (NAFEX) rate of N410.15 to one US dollar for 2022 to 2024.
“The exchange rate of the Naira to the dollar, which was N379 in the 2021 budget, has been adjusted to the NAFEX rate of N410.15 to one US dollar.
“We are assuming, for now, the same rate for 2022, 2023 and 2024,” the Minister added.
Furthermore, the Finance Minister took an overview of the federation and fiscal outcomes for the Federation and Value Added Tax (VAT) Pool Accounts Distributable for January to May.
She said the amount available for distribution from the Federation Account was N2.78 trillion.
“Of this amount, the federal government received N998.57 billion, while the states and local governments received N506.59 billion and N390.48 billion respectively from the main pool account.
“Federal, state and local governments received N132.70 billion, N442.33 billion and N309.63 billion respectively from the VAT pool account,” Mrs Ahmed disclosed.
Also, the Minister said the gross oil and gas revenue was projected at N5.19 trillion for January to May.
“As of May, N1.49 trillion was realised out of the prorated sum of N2.16 trillion. This represents 69 per cent performance.
“Oil and gas deductions were N194.31 billion (or 45.8 per cent) more than the budget.
“This is mainly attributable to petroleum subsidy costs which were not provided for in the 2021 budget.
“After netting out deductions (including 13 per cent derivation) net oil and gas revenue inflows to the Federation Account amounted to N872.16 billion,” she said.
The Minister noted that the inflow was N864.20 billion or 49.8 per cent less than the projection as of May.
Giving an update on the revenue performance of 2021 budget implementation for January to May, Mrs Ahmed said the federal government’s retained revenue was N1.84 trillion, 67 per cent of the pro-rata target.
She said the share of oil revenues was N289.61 billion, which represented 50 per cent performance, adding that non-oil tax revenues totalled N618.76 trillion, 99.7 per cent of pro-rata.
“Companies Income Tax (CIT) and VAT collections were ahead of the budget targets with N290.90 billion and N123.85 billion, representing 102 per cent and 125 per cent respectively of the pro-rata targets for the period.
“Customs collections was N204.0 billion (86 per cent of target),” she said, noting that other revenues amounted to N762.70 billion, of which independent revenues were N487.01 billion.
On the expenditure side, the Minister said N4.86 trillion, representing 92.7 per cent of the prorated budget had been spent, stating that, “This excludes GOEs’ and project-tied debt expenditures.”
She noted that out of the expenditure, N1.80 trillion was for debt service representing 37 per cent of the federal government’s expenditure and N1.50 trillion for personnel costs, including Pensions, representing 31 per cent of the federal government’s revenues.
The Minister further said that as of May, N973.13 billion had been released for capital expenditure.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria slightly surpassed its quota set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in July 2026.
In the month under review, the country produced about 1.57 million barrels of crude oil per day.
It was the third consecutive month Africa’s largest oil-producing nation was meeting its monthly quota, set to stabilise the price of the commodity on the global market by the oil cartel.
Data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Wednesday showed that the 1.5 million barrels per day ceiling for Nigeria was surpassed last month.
The agency disclosed in a statement today that the country produced 1.505mbpd of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensate, bringing the combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.
In the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.
Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in the month of July, the statistics show that on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.
This was attributed to the decline in production due to operational challenges experienced at the Erha and Akpo fields, which impacted crude oil output during the period under review.
These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output.
Despite the challenges, production operations across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures aimed at maintaining production efficiency and minimising the impact of operational constraints, NUPRC stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The over 9 billion shares of Lasaco Assurance Plc issued to shareholders of the company via a rights issue have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The equities were brought to Customs Street on Wednesday by the organisation, increasing its total issued and fully paid-up share capital.
Lasaco Assurance, which scaled the recapitalisation hurdle of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in July 2026, raised fresh capital from the capital market to shore up its capital base.
The underwriting firm got about N18.5 billion from the rights issue, which involved the issuance of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares at a unit price of N2.00.
The exercise was on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
Confirming the listing of the additional stocks of Lasaco Assurance today, the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of NGX RegCo, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, announced in a circular that, “Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Lasaco Assurance Plc were today, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares arose from the company’s rights issue of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.00 per share on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
“With the listing of the additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid-up share capital of Lasaco Assurance Plc has now increased from 11,083,585,855 to 20,319,907,401 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has said the successful recapitalisation of the insurance industry will strengthen the sector’s ability to support financial stability and economic growth.
NIA Chairman, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said a well-capitalised insurance industry would be better positioned to meet its obligations promptly, underwrite complex and large-scale risks and serve as a dependable pillar of the Nigerian economy.
She made the remarks while commending the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for its structured implementation of the new minimum capital requirements under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
Mrs Nwachukwu said NAICOM’s clear guidelines, systematic verification process, defined timelines and rigorous supervision had provided operators with a credible framework for navigating the recapitalisation exercise.
She described the outcome as a major milestone for the industry and congratulated the 43 insurance and reinsurance companies that have successfully met the prescribed minimum capital requirements.
According to her, the exercise represents “a major win not just for regulators and operators, but for policyholders, investors and the wider Nigerian economy.”
Mrs Nwachukwu said the association would continue to work with NAICOM and other stakeholders to consolidate the gains of the exercise, with emphasis on sustainable industry growth, stronger market conduct and improved consumer confidence.
The official also expressed solidarity with the eight companies still undergoing final verification and regulatory review, urging them to remain confident as NAICOM completes the process within the 14-day review period.
The NIA chairman assured policyholders and the wider business community that the insurance industry would emerge from the recapitalisation exercise stronger, more resilient and better positioned to contribute to Nigeria’s economic development.
