Economy
Nigeria is one of Sub Saharan Africa’s largest economies and relies heavily on oil as its main source of foreign exchange earnings and government revenues. Following the 2008- 2009 global financial crises, the banking sector was effectively recapitalized and regulation enhanced. Since then, Nigeria’s economic growth has been driven by growth in agriculture, telecommunications, and services.
Following President BUHARI’s election in March 2015, the government announced its plans to increase transparency, diversify the economy away from oil, and improve fiscal management.
The President, who ran on an anti-corruption platform, has made some headway in eradicating corruption. Such measures include, an implementation of a Treasury Single Account that allows the government to better manage its resources.
The government is also working to develop stronger public-private partnerships for roads, agriculture and agro-business and power. Following a projected economic recovery and growth for the country at 2.2% in 2107, the Federal Government has developed a framework in the Nigeria Economic Recovery and Growth Plan ERGP (2017-2020). The plan focuses on five key areas, namely: improving macroeconomic stability; economic growth and diversification; improving competitiveness; fostering social inclusion; and governance and security.
Some key reforms have also been rolled out, including the conditional cash transfer initiative targeted at the poorest and most vulnerable population, improving capital budget execution, and strengthening public financial management at both state and federal levels. In addition, there is the acceleration of the implementation of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP), whichis a key priority for fostering industrialization. The priority sectors identified here are mining and quarrying, which contributed 7.1% to overall GDP in 2016.
The government has also, in addressing the security concerns in the country, initiated a plan for an integrated framework for development programmes in the northeast through implementation of targeted social safety initiatives across the country. In addition to a military solution, the federal government is committed to implementing economic recovery and development interventions aimed at addressing the deepening fragility and vulnerability in the conflict-affected northeast and the Niger Delta. The Presidential Committee on the North East Initiative (PCNI) was inaugurated towards the end of 2016 and is charged with co-ordination of all assistance and projects targeted at the most affected states in the region.
As further proof of the Government’s commitment to economic growth, the government has embarked on vigorous economic reforms such as the diversification of the economy beyond the oil sector in support of other sectors such as SMEs, agriculture, solid minerals, manufacturing, tourism, rail transportation, energy infrastructure as well creating external reserve buffers that would assist Nigeria withstand any future cyclical economic swings.
Agriculture
Agriculture in Nigeria accounts for around one – third of the country’s GDP and two-thirds of employment. Nigeria’s major crops include palm, peanut oil, rubber, and cotton. These products are exported and are also sold domestically. Other agricultural products include sorghum, millet, maize (corn), yams and cassava. All of these are formerly used as subsistence foods by farmers but are now widely sold for cash.
The government has recently put substantial amounts of money into improving farming through investment into rural infrastructure and irrigation projects and by introducing modern agricultural chemicals.
Oil and Gas
Nigeria is rich in natural resources and the Nigerian economy is largely dependent on its oil sector, which supplies 95% of its foreign exchange earnings.
The government through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is committed to maximizing the net economic benefit from oil and gas resources and enhance the social and economic development of the people while making far reaching changes to ensure the fundamental transformation of Nigerian oil and gas industry on exploration, exploitation, production and distribution of products with a view to bringing it in line with the 21st Century global industrial practices.
The upstream operations of the NNPC are in joint partnerships with the major oil companies. These multi-national Exploration and Production (E & P) companies are operating predominantly in the on-shore Niger Delta, coastal offshore areas and lately in the deep waters.
As with many other developing countries, the multinationals in Nigeria had been operating under what is called a concession system, with Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) being the concessionaire, while the companies are the operators. NNPC also is responsible for the management of the exploration bidding rounds for oil and gas.The multinational oil companies operate in partnership with NNPC under Joint Operating Agreements (JOAs) or Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs).
Production
With a maximum crude oil production capacity of 2.5 million barrels per day, Nigeria ranks has Africa’s largest producer of oil and the sixth largest oil producing country in the world.
Nigeria appears to have a greater potential for gas than oil.
Nigeria’s gas production in the year 2000 was approximately 1,681.66 billion scf, 1, 3715 billion scf was associated gas and the rest 310.16 billion was non-associated gas. Nigeria produces only high value, low sulphur content, light crude oils – Antan Blend, Bonny Light, Bonny Medium, Brass Blend, Escravos Light, Forcados Blend, IMA, Odudu Blend, Pennington Light, Qua-Iboe Light and Ukpokiti.
NNPC, through its subsidiary the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), is directly responsible for four oil and gas fields with a total production of 15,000 bpd. NPDC is committed to expanding its production capacity and has thus entered into strategic alliance with Agip Energy to develop the Okhono offshore field.
Textile and Clothing
Textiles have been produced in Nigeria by the traditional methods now for several years, but the industrial activity used in the production of textile is comparatively much more recent. The sector has now developed to incorporate carpet production, dyeing, embroidery makings, fiber production, lace, spinning, weaving, knitting, printing and finishing.
The sector produces a variety of fabrics ranging from African prints, shirting, embroideries, etc. to Guinea brocades, wax prints, jute and other products. The textile sector of Nigeria mainly comprises of the Cotton Textile and Synthetic Fabrics and remains to account for a significant proportion of the overall growth of manufacturing production.
The synthetic fiber section of the textile industry has recorded substantial amount of growth over the past years and about 60% to 70% of the raw materials required in the industry are indigenously sourced, the main exceptions being high quality of cotton and synthetic materials.
The textile industry of Nigeria is labor intensive, it is estimated that the sector provides employment to over 150,000 Nigerians, excluding the thousands who are directly employed in the cottage sector of the industry. The major textile enterprises in Nigeria are located around Lagos, which has the majority of the country’s spinning mills and weaving mills. Other significant textile operations are located around Kano and Kaduna.
Mining
Nigeria’s minerals and mining sector is still largely underdeveloped. In 2015, the sector contributed approximately 0.33% to the gross domestic product of the country. While this contribution is a reversal from the historically higher percentages (about 4-5% in the 1960s-70s), the contribution represents a cautiously optimistic restart of the development of the sector particularly with a decade of reforms, which started in 1999.
These reforms include, the passage of a new Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act (2007), a Nigerian Mineral and Metals Policy (2008), the creation of a modern Mining Cadastre system, the refinement of the tax code, and the expansion in airborne mapping of the country to sharpen knowledge of the mineral endowments.
The government is commitment to transforming the mining sector into a globally competitive sector capable of contributing to wealth creation, providing jobs and advancing the social and human security of the Nigerian populace.
The Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals oversees the activities of the sector and the ownership rights for the exploring, mining and selling of mineral resources rest with the Nigerian government. Some of the mineral resources of Nigeria include gold, found across several parts of the schist belts in North-west and South-west of the country, iron ore with over three billion tones found in Kogi, Enugu, Niger, Zamfara, and Kaduna States. There is bitumen found in Ondo State, coal found in Enugu state. Others minerals are uranium, lead, zinc, limestone, barytes and tantalum.