- More borrowing needed despite improved revenue, Edun tells Senate
- Unemployment rate drops to 4.3% – NBS
President Bola Tinubu on Monday said Nigeria is on track to becoming a $1tn economy by 2030.
Tinubu premised this assertion on the recent statistics that showed a 3.46 per cent GDP growth for the third quarter of 2024 (July, August and September).
The third-quarter report by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product grew by 3.46 per cent, compared to the 3.19 per cent growth recorded in the second quarter.
The top contributing sectors to GDP in Q3 2024 are Agriculture, 28.65 per cent; ICT 16.35 per cent; Trade 14.78 per cent; Manufacturing 8.21 per cent; Crude Oil, 5.57 per cent; Finance & Insurance 5.51 per cent and Real Estate 5.43 per cent.
“The growth in GDP shows that President Tinubu’s quest for a more robust boost in the economy and, by extension, a better standard of living for all Nigerians is on course,” the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, said in a statement he signed Monday.
While assuring Nigerians of better economic output, Tinubu said the 3.46 per cent growth indicates Nigeria is recovering from the reforms’ unintended effects.
“President Tinubu said his administration has not and will never forget his promise of a $1trn economy by 2030.
“He assured that once the economy is rebased by early 2025 to capture its dynamism and record significant changes that have occurred in different sectors, the country will be on its way to shared prosperity,” Dare said.
The NBS says the latest GDP growth in the third quarter is driven by key sectors such as Agriculture, Transport, Education, Health, Real Estate, Finance and Insurance, ICT, Trade and Manufacturing.
Tinubu said, “I am excited by the latest report from the National Bureau of Statistics that our economy grew in the third quarter more than last quarter and even beyond projected estimates.
“While I welcome this development, the latest figure also shows the much work that needs to be done.
“We won’t rest until Nigerians feel the positive impacts in their pockets and experience a better living standard. My administration remains committed to the welfare of our people.”
The President said this performance once again shows that the reforms embarked upon by the Tinubu administration to reposition the economy and ensure better fiscal management are beginning to yield fruits.
He noted that the proposed tax reforms also indicate the administration’s resolve to reduce the tax burden on small businesses and spread prosperity to the poor.
“The new Tax regime seeks to promote equity by reducing what is known as the headquarters effect—a situation where states, where company headquarters are based, get more benefits because their taxes for the whole nation are remitted—in favour of spatial and demographic equity,” said the President.
More borrowing needed despite improved revenue, Edun tells Senate
However, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has said that the Nigerian government needs more borrowings to fund its budget even though some Ministries, Departments and Agencies have surpassed their revenue target.
Edun said this during an interactive session of the Senate Joint Committees on Finance and National Planning and Economic Affairs on the 2025-2027 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework/Fiscal Strategy Paper.
According to him, the borrowing needs to be done productively and efficiently based on the Senate’s approval for proper funding of the budget.
“The revenue effort has been good, but we still need to do better, and in the meantime, we still need to borrow productively, effectively and sustainably all in the name of investing in a Nigerian economy.
“Not just infrastructure but also social services, health services, education and intervention in terms of social safety net to help the poorest and most vulnerable,” Edun said.
Giving a similar reason, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu reminded the lawmakers that the borrowing plans contained in the N35.5 trillion 2024 budget, were primarily meant to fund the N9.7 trillion deficit.
“Despite revenue targets surpassed by some of the revenue generating agencies, the government still needs to borrow for proper funding of the budget, particularly in the area of deficit and productivity for the poorest and most vulnerable.
“We have a long term development perspective plan agenda 2050 aiming at GDP per capita of $33,000,” Bagudu explained.
Meanwhile, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission maintain that if the Federal Government is serious, there would be no need to borrow to fund the nation’s budget.
The Chairman of EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, who told the committee that it has recovered over N197 billion since January 2024, noted that if the government works hard and derives the requisite collection from the IOC’s, the country would have enough to fund the budget.
The Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adeniyi, in his presentation, disclosed that the Customs has raked in N5.352 trillion in revenue above the N5.09 trillion target for the 2024 fiscal year.
He added that N6.3 trillion is targeted as projected revenue for 2025, a 10% increase of which would be the revenue target for 2026 and an additional 10% increase for the 2027 fiscal year.
The Group Chief Executive Officer, of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, in his own presentation, said the company exceeded the N12.3 trillion revenue projected for 2024 by already raking in N13.1 trillion.
“For the 2025 fiscal year, N23.7 trillion is projected by NNPCL to be remitted into the federation account “, he said.
The Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, in his presentation, also informed the joint committees that FIRS had surpassed targeted revenues across the various tax components.
Labour market conditions improve as unemployment rate drops to 4.3%
Also, Nigeria’s unemployment rate declined to 4.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, signaling improved labour market conditions.
According to the latest report released on Monday, by the National Bureau of Statistics, this marked a decrease from the 5.3 per cent recorded in Q1 2024 and reflected a gradual recovery from the 5.0 per cent in Q3 2023.
The Labour Force Participation Rate rose to 79.5 per cent, up from 77.3 per cent in the previous quarter, highlighting increased workforce engagement.
The Employment-to-Population Ratio also showed significant improvement, climbing to 76.1 per cent in Q2 2024 from 73.2 per cent in Q1 2024.
This indicates that a higher proportion of the working-age population was gainfully employed during the period.
Also, self-employment remained dominant, accounting for 85.6 per cent of total employment, an increase from 84 per cent in the preceding quarter.
Informal employment also rose slightly to 93.0 per cent, highlighting the economy’s reliance on informal jobs.
Urban unemployment stood at 5.2 per cent, a reduction from 6.0 per cent in Q1 2024.
However, rural areas recorded an even lower unemployment rate of 2.8 per cent, compared to 4.3 per cent in the previous quarter.
This disparity highlights the continued role of agriculture and informal activities in rural employment, contrasting with the urban dependence on formal and service-driven jobs.
The youth unemployment rate (ages 15–24) dropped significantly to 6.5 per cent, compared to 8.4 per cent in Q1 2024.
The report further revealed gender disparities, with the unemployment rate for females at 5.1 per cent, compared to 3.4 per cent for males.
This suggests a need for targeted gender-inclusive policies to bridge the employment gap.
The report read, “The unemployment rate is defined as the share of the labour force not employed but actively searching for and available for work.
“Unemployment is one of the components of labour underutilisation. The unemployment rate for Q2 2024 was 4.3 per cent, showing an increase of 0.1 percentage point compared to the same period last year.
“The unemployment rate among males was 3.4 per cent and 5.1 per cent among females.
“By place of residence, the unemployment rate was 5.2 per cent in urban areas and 2.8 per cent in rural areas. Youth unemployment rate was 6.5 per cent in Q2 2024, showing a decrease from 8.4 per cent in Q1 2024.”
Time-related underemployment, which measures workers seeking additional hours, dropped to 9.2 per cent in Q2 2024 from 10.6 per cent in Q1.
Labour underutilisation metrics also improved, with LU2 (unemployment and time-related underemployment) decreasing to 13.0 per cent from 15.3 per cent in the previous quarter.
LU3 and LU4 metrics, which include potential labour force participation, also recorded declines to 5.9 per cent and 14.5 per cent, respectively.
