The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) has described Nigeria’s 2024 Gross Domestic Product GDP figure as a fair reflection of the success of the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Dr Niyi Akinsiju, IMPI noted that it was not surprising that the 3.40 per cent full-year figure was higher than the projections of global institutions and financial analysts.
IMPI said the earlier lower projections were due to a poor understanding of the Tinubu reforms.
The statement said: “The value of Nigeria’s 2024 aggregate outputs of both goods and services as reflected in the year’s Gross Domestic Product is a complete affirmation of the impact of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms, which started on 29th May 2023.
“At 3.40 per cent full-year 2024 GDP growth, the performance of the Nigerian economy in the 12 months of last year beats projections made by global institutions and experts.
“The 2024 GDP growth in the value of the economy is an increase of 0.66 per cent from the 2.74 per cent recorded in 2023. The 2024 aggregate GDP figure is driven by the 3.84 per cent economic performance recorded in the year’s fourth quarter.
“The 3.40 per cent GDP growth in 2024 is the highest between 2022 and 2024. The country’s real GDP was stated at 3.25 per cent in 2022. It declined to 2.86 per cent in 2023, from where it increased to 3.4 per cent in 2024.
“Given various projections on GDP’s potential growth at the beginning of every fiscal year, we collated and compared the National Bureau of Statistics issued real GDP figure for 2024 with the projections made by global institutions that include the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, PWC (Pricewater and Cooper) and the influential Nigeria based Financial Derivative Company for Nigeria.
“Our analysis showed that after three projection adjustments beginning from a low of 2.9 per cent GDP in 2024, the IMF settled for a 3.30 per cent projected growth. However, like the World Bank, which projected the economy to grow by 3.30 per cent, this projection fell short of Nigeria’s 2024 real GDP growth by 1.10 per cent.
“As things turned out, all the global institutions missed their projections of Nigeria’s economic growth in 2024 by more than one percentage point.
The Policy think tank also projected that Nigeria will outperform the projections by the World Bank and the IMF in 2025.
“Meanwhile, we have reviewed Nigeria’s 2025 GDP projections by the same entities. In collating their projections for GDP 2025, we observed a threshold difference between projections by global bodies and domestic entities.
“So, while IMF projected a lowly 3.2 per cent real GDP growth for Nigeria in 2025, the World Bank forecasted that Nigeria’s economy would grow by 3.5 per cent in 2025. PwC also made projections within this narrow range, projecting a 3.3 per cent GDP growth in 2025.
“These projections are in stark contrast with those of the CBN and Rewane’s Financial Derivatives Company. The CBN projected that the economy would expand by 4.17 per cent this year, while the Financial Derivative Company has projected a potential 6 per cent GDP growth for Nigeria in 2025.
From our standpoint, the global institutions have a deficient understanding of the dynamics of the ongoing reforms by Tinubu’s administration.
“What has become evident in Nigeria’s economic reality is the wholesome transmutation from a handout, populist model to a market-driven one. Though some vestiges of the old model exist in some segments of the economy, the reforms have, in many ways, released the economy from the stranglehold of growth constraints like price control brought on by subsidies.
“We align with the 4.7 per cent to 6 per cent GDP growth range projected by the CBN and Financial Derivative Company. Indeed, our modelling of the Nigerian production and fiscal spheres indicates a possible 5.4 per cent GDP growth in 2025.
“This is because of the sustained decline in the inflation rate, reduced exchange rates volatility, declining interest rates through the year, continued foreign portfolio and foreign direct investments into the country, “it added.
