By 
By Nwakaego Alajemba
Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has further stressed the potential of technology to be the country’s new oil as the ICT sector contributes 13.85% to national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2019 according to a new report released by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The contribution of ICT to Nigeria’s GDP surpassed that of oil and gas in the second quarter of 2019, states the report, which also observed that the country’s GDP grew by 1.94% (year-on-year) in real terms in the second quarter of 2019 compared to the second quarter of 2018, which recorded a growth of 1.50%. Furthermore, the non-oil sector contributed 91.18% to the nation’s GDP in the second quarter of 2019 as opposed to the 8.82% contributed to total real GP by the oil sector. Particularly, the ICT sector contributed 13.85% to total nominal GDP in the second quarter of 2019 which is much higher than the 11.22% contributed in the same period in 2018.
Pantami said the significant contribution of the ICT sector to the GDP is as a result of the concerted efforts of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to fully implement the administration’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP). These efforts, he said, led to a sustained focus on growing the non-oil sector of the economy, especially ICT and the results witnessed are testimonies of impact of these efforts.
He reiterated his ministry’s commitment to the economic diversification efforts of the Buhari’s government and called on all stakeholders to support the administration’s laudable initiatives aimed at improving Nigeria’s economic health.
