By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday said the gross domestic product (GDP) of Nigeria in the first quarter of 2022 increased by 3.11 per cent on a year-to-year basis in real terms amid lower economic activity, according to the stats office.
In the same period of last year, the GDP stood at 2.60 per cent, 0.51 per cent lower than the figures in Q1 2022 and when compared with the preceding quarter, which was the fourth quarter of 2021 at 3.98 per cent, the current GDP is 0.88 per cent lower.
However, the country’s economy is recording positive growth for the sixth consecutive quarter since the recession witnessed in 2020 when negative growth rates were recorded in the second and third quarters.
In the quarter under review, aggregate GDP stood at N45,317,823.33 million in nominal terms, higher than the N40,014,482.74 million recorded in the first quarter of 2021, indicating a year-on-year nominal growth rate of 13.25 per cent.
According to the NBS, the nominal GDP growth rate in Q1 2022 was higher relative to the 12.25 per cent growth recorded in the first quarter of 2021 and higher compared to the 13.11 per cent growth recorded in the preceding quarter.
Further analysis indicated that the oil sector contributed 6.63 per cent to the total real GDP in Q1 2022, down from the figures recorded in the corresponding period of 2021 and up compared to the preceding quarter, where it contributed 9.25 per cent and 5.19 per cent respectively.
In the first three months of this year, the real growth of the sector was –26.04 per cent (year-on-year), a decrease of 23.83 per cent compared with the rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2021. Growth decreased by 17.99 per cent points when compared to Q4 2021 which was –8.06 per cent and on a quarter-on-quarter basis, it recorded a growth rate of 9.11 per cent in Q1 2022.
In the period under consideration, the average daily oil production of Nigeria was 1.49 million barrels per day (mbpd), lower than the daily average production of 1.72mbpd recorded in the same quarter of 2021 by 0.23mbpd and lower than the fourth quarter of 2021 production volume of 1.50mbpd by 0.01mbpd.
As for the non-oil sector, it contributed 93.37 per cent to the nation’s GDP in the first quarter of 2022, higher than the share recorded in the first quarter of 2021 which was 90.75 per cent and lower than the fourth quarter of 2021 recorded as 94.81 per cent.
In Q1 2022, the non-oil sector grew by 6.08 per cent in real terms, higher by 5.28 per cent points compared to the rate recorded same quarter of 2021 and 1.34 per cent points higher than the fourth quarter of 2021.
This sector was driven in the first quarter of 2022 mainly by Information and Communication (Telecommunication); Trade; Financial and Insurance (Financial Institutions); Agriculture (Crop Production); and Manufacturing (Food, Beverage & Tobacco).
Dipo Olowookere 
Adedapo Adesanya