The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed on Wednesday that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth declined to 2.31 per cent in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023.

Ripples Nigeria learnt that the 2.31 per cent GDP growth fell below the 3.52 per cent reported in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2022.

Also, Nigeria’s GDP growth rate in the first quarter this year falls short of the 3.11 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of Q1 last year.

The NBS blamed the Naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the drop in Nigeria’s economic growth between January to March.

According to the statistics body, the cash crunch, caused by the failure of the Naira redesign policy contributed to impeding the growth of Nigeria’s economy.
“Gross Domestic Product grew by 2.31 per cent (year-on-year) in real terms in the first quarter of 2023. This growth rate declined from 3.11 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2022, and 3.52 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022.

“The reduction in growth is attributed to the adverse effects of the cash crunch experienced during the quarter,” NBS said.

“The performance of the GDP in the first quarter of 2023 was driven mainly by the Services sector, which recorded a growth of 4.35% and contributed 57.29% to the aggregate GDP.

“The agriculture sector grew by -0.90%, lower than the growth of 3.16% recorded in the first quarter of 2022. Although the growth of the industry sector improved to 0.31% relative to – 6.81% recorded in the “first quarter of 2022, agriculture, and the industry sectors contributed less to the aggregate GDP in the quarter under review compared to the first quarter of 2022,” the report reads.

-Ripples Nigeria