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Nigeria Late-2022 GDP Growth Slowed


FILE: An aerial view of trucks parked on the road side waiting to get access into Tincan port in Apapa, Lagos, on January 11, 2021. After oil, the port of Lagos, which stretches from Apapa to Tin Can island, is the second largest source of income for Nigeria.
FILE: An aerial view of trucks parked on the road side waiting to get access into Tincan port in Apapa, Lagos, on January 11, 2021. After oil, the port of Lagos, which stretches from Apapa to Tin Can island, is the second largest source of income for Nigeria.

Nigeria's economic growth slowed to 3.52% in 2022's fourth quarter from 3.98% a year earlier, as widespread flooding destroyed farms, oil production declined and industry was squeezed by rising costs, the statistics office said.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said full-year growth stood at 3.1% in 2022, in line with the World Bank's projection.

Regarding 2022's final three months, "Although the agriculture sector grew ... its performance was significantly hampered by severe incidences of flood experienced across the country," the NBS said.

"The Industry sector was ... challenged recording -0.94% growth and contributing less to the aggregate GDP relative to the third quarter of 2022 and the fourth quarter of 2021."

Nigeria, Africa's top oil producer, recorded an average daily oil output of 1.34 million barrels per day (mbpd) in the fourth quarter, lower than the daily average of 1.50 mbpd registered in the same quarter of 2021, the NBS said.

Oil production, which accounts for around two-thirds of government revenue and 90% of its foreign exchange reserves, contracted 13.38% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, the NBS said.

The price of diesel fuel, which many businesses rely on to generate electricity, has soared in Nigeria due to high global oil prices, leading to increased costs of production, while a weaker currency has made imports more expensive.

Double-digit inflation and a weaker naira currency have held back Africa's biggest economy as it has recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nigeria holds elections on Saturday, which President Muhammadu Buhari is constitutionally-barred from contesting, at which tepid growth is expected to be a key factor in voter's minds as they cast their ballots.

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