Economy
PwC Adjusts Nigeria’s 2024 Economic Growth to 3.1%, Warns of High Risks
By Adedapo Adesanya
Professional consultancy firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), has adjusted its forecast for Nigeria’s economy and now sees a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 3.1 per cent in 2024 as against the 3.0 per cent it said last year.
The firm PwC Nigeria released its latest Nigeria Economic Outlook and highlighted trends that will shape the nation’s economic trajectory in 2024.
The report projects a marginal rise and also sees a decline in inflation, noting that achieving sustainable growth in 2024 requires balancing ambitious fiscal reforms with effective budget implementation.
The firm noted that Nigeria’s 3.1 per cent marginal growth projection in 2024 would happen on the back of sustained policy reforms.
“The growth projection is driven by ongoing reforms, recovering oil production, and a proactive policy environment,” the report highlighted.
It also warned that possible downside risks to this projection include sustained rise in fiscal debt, elevated interest rates, high inflationary levels, foreign exchange liquidity pressures, high exposure to shocks in the global value chain, poor non-oil revenues, and sector development.
In terms of sectoral growth, the main drivers of GDP growth in the last 12 months have been the financial services, information and communication, and utilities sectors.
The firm expects these sectors to continue to drive growth in the short term, adding that sectoral growth will be driven by a combination of demand dynamics, investment, government reforms, and trade dynamics.
The forecast also said Nigeria achieving its budgeted oil revenue in 2024 will depend on the oil production quota of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), international oil prices, improved security in the oil-producing regions, and geopolitical factors.
It added that proposed fiscal reforms have the potential to boost non-oil revenue and shape the economy, but success hinges on effective budgeting and execution.
On inflation, PwC advised that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) must independently pursue inflation goals, emphasising inflation control, and maintaining a stable financial system.
“Despite the deployment of monetary policy tools, the inflationary pressure has persisted,” it warned.
“Finding coherence and alignment between fiscal and monetary policy to stabilise prices may enable the achievement of statutory and policy targets in 2024. CBN clarity of policy, transparency of market operations and consistent communication will enhance stability to exchange rate price discovery and market activities,” the report added.
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.
