The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday reported that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 1.5 percent in the second quarter of this year.
The Bureau stated that the growth rate, which remained the highest since Nigeria’s exit from recession, was driven by the non-oil sector.
In its report titles ‘Q2, 2018 Gross Domestic Product Report’, the agency noted that the non-oil sector grew by 2.05% representing the strongest growth in non-oil GDP since Q4 2015.
The NBS reported further that the non-oil GDP growth which was -0.18 percent in Q1 2016, -0.38 percent in Q2 2016, 0.03 percent in Q3 2016, -0.33 percent in Q4 2016, 0.72 percent in Q1 2017, 0.45 percent in Q2 2017, -0.76 percent in Q3 2017, 1.45 percent in Q4 2017and 0.76 percent in Q1 2018 grew strongly in Q2 2018 by 2.05 percent.
The Bureau attributed the non-oil sector’s growth largely to improved performance of the transportation sector, which rose to 21.76 percent in the quarter under review and was complemented by growth in construction, which grew by 7.66 percent and electricity which grew by 7.59 percent.
The agency stated that other non-oil sectors that drove growth in Q2 2018 include telecommunication, which grew by 11.51 percent, water supply and sewage which grew by 11.98 percent and broadcasting, which grew by 21.92 percent.
The Bureau noted that the growth in the non oil sector was, however, constrained by slower growth rate of Agriculture, which recorded 1.3 percent growth compared to its 3 percent growth in the first quarter this year and 3.01 percent in Q2 2017.
This is even as it disclosed that the Q2, 2018 GDP growth was constrained also by the oil GDP, with crude oil and gas production contracting by -3.95 percent compared to 14.77 percent in Q1 2018 and 3.53 percent in Q2 2017
The agency reported also that Services sector GDP in the second quarter of this year recorded its best performance in nine consecutive quarters, growing by 2.12 percent in the preceding quarter compared to -0.47 percent in Q1 2018 and -0.85 percent in Q2 2017