Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) sector has contributed N8.13tillion to real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the nine months to September 2021.
According to data collated from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS’) reports the sector is composed of the four activities of telecommunications and information services; publishing; motion picture, sound recording and music production; and broadcasting.
In first quarter (Q1), the country’s real GDP was N16.83tn, with the ICT sector recording a growth rate of 6.47 per cent in real terms, year on year, and contributing 14.91 per cent to real GDP.
The real GDP dropped to N16.69tn in Q2, with the ICT sector recording a growth rate of 5.55 per cent in real terms and contributing 17.92 per cent to real GDP.
In Q3, the ICT recorded a growth rate of 9.66 per cent in real terms, year on year, and contributed 14.20 per cent to the real GDP (N18.54tn).
The sector’s contribution N2.63tn to nominal GDP in Q3, compared to N2.99tn in Q2 and N2.51tn in Q1. It contributed a total of N12.91tn in the nine-month period.
In Q1, the total nominal gross domestic product was N40.01tn and the ICT sector contributed 9.91 per cent (N3.97tn).
The total nominal GDP and the sector’s contribution rose to N39.12tn and 12.22 per cent (N4.78tn) respectively in Q2. The total nominal GDP increased further to N45.11tn in Q3 but the sector’s contribution fell to 9.22 per cent (N4.16tn).
However, some experts opined that weakened purchasing power as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the slow pace of the National Identity Number-Subscriber Identity Module data verification, and a telecommunication blackout in certain states of the federation might be responsible for the slow growth in the sector.
Olusola Teniola, the Nigeria National Coordinator for the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4Ai), said consumer spending in the country had been weakened by the pandemic.
“It is apparent that consumer spending has weakened post-COVID-19; so growth is happening at a slow pace,” Teniola said.
