The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa, has explained why his team urged the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to rebase the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector.
Inuwa stressed that rebasing the ICT GDP by the NBS was necessary because of the digital economy’s interplay across all sectors of the Nigerian economy.
He made this disclosure on Wednesday as the keynote speaker during the 3rd Annual Economic Confidential Lecture & PRNigeria Book Presentation themed “AGENDA FOR A DIGITAL GLOBAL ECONOMY,” attended by Nairametrics.
He emphasized that the rebasing was germane because the digital economy permeates all critical sectors of Nigeria.
Interplay of Digital Economy and Nigeria’s Economy
- Inuwa explained that there was no such thing as a digital economy standing on its own, but rather digital technology remains a tool that can power the Nigerian economy.
“If you think of agriculture, healthcare, education, finance—today they all rely on digital. Therefore, we also push for the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics to rebase the ICT GDP,” he said.
He highlighted that the ICT GDP rebasing was crucial because today, one cannot talk about finance without IT.
“If you remove IT from finance, growth will decline. If you remove IT from journalism today, it will reduce. Therefore, we need to rebase, because the digital economy is about using technology to empower economic activities, whatever you do,” he said.
He added that if relevant stakeholders embrace technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, such development can drive national prosperity and inclusivity.
On his part, the Special Adviser to the President on Economy, Office of the Vice President, Dr. Tope Fasuwa, represented by Aremu Olayinka Elijah, maintained that the rebased economic data confirms measurable progress.
“We are shifting from traditional models to a tech-driven future,” he said.
He added that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration remains committed to recalibrating Nigeria’s economy.
What to Know
Nairametrics recalls that the ICT sector recorded 31.63% year-on-year growth in nominal terms for the first quarter of 2025, according to the latest GDP report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The development marked a 28.23 percentage point jump compared to the 3.40% growth posted in the same quarter of 2024 and a 13.67-point increase from the last quarter of 2024, showing strong momentum in the sector’s nominal performance.
The sector’s contribution to nominal GDP rose to 10.29% in Q1 2025, up from 9.25% in Q1 2024 and 8.55% in the previous quarter, further solidifying its importance as a growth engine for Nigeria’s economy.
In January, NBS announced the rebasing of Nigeria’s GDP data, with 2019 selected as the new base year.
This decision, according to the NBS, was driven by the year’s status as a period of “relative economic stability” compared to other recent years, which were marked by significant economic shocks.
