Economy
Presidency ‘Pops Champagne’ Over 3.19% Q2 2024 GDP Growth
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Presidency has welcomed the latest report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) which put the country’s Gross National Product (GDP) at a 3.19 per cent year-on-year growth in the second quarter of 2024, higher than the 2.51 per cent recorded in the same period of 2023.
A statement by the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, said the latest report affirmed that the economy was on the right trajectory and the path to recovery.
“As the President said in his August 4 national broadcast, our economy is recovering. Sooner than later, Nigerians will begin to feel, see, and enjoy the impact of his administration’s economic re-engineering efforts.
“We want to reiterate that this government will continue to work assiduously to rekindle Nigerians’ hope and confidence. President Tinubu is working to build a solid and resilient economy.
“President Tinubu wants Nigerians to retain their faith in the government and not allow themselves to be swayed by naysayers intent on aborting and undermining the current reforms for their selfish ends,” said Mr Onanuga.
According to the NBS report, the growth rate in Q2 is higher than the 2.5 per cent recorded in Q2 2023 and higher than the 2.98 per cent growth in Q1 2024.
The GDP’s performance in the second quarter of 2024 was driven by the service sector, which recorded a growth of 3.79 per cent and contributed 58.76 per cent to the aggregate output.
The agriculture sector grew by 1.41 per cent in contrast to the 1.50 per cent recorded in the second quarter of 2023.
The industrial sector’s growth was 3.53 per cent, up from the -1.94 per cent recorded in the second quarter of 2023.
The NBS also reported that crude production grew to 1.41 million barrels per day, compared with 1.22 million barrels a year earlier.
In terms of share of the GDP, the industry and services sectors contributed more to the aggregate GDP in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the corresponding quarter of 2023.
“We are confident that with the policies we have put in place, we expect oil production to rise to about two million barrels very soon.
“In the quarter under review, aggregate GDP at basic price stood at N60,930,000.58 in nominal terms.
“This performance is higher than the second quarter of 2023, which recorded an aggregate GDP of N52,103,927.13 million, indicating a 16.94 per cent year-on-year nominal growth,” Mr Onanuga said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
