Rewane: Nigeria’s faster economic growth should lift living standards

ECONOMIST and Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr Bismarck Rewane, says Nigeria’s economy is expanding at a pace faster than population growth, a development that should translate into higher income and improved living standards for Nigerians.

Rewane made the observation while commenting on the latest Gross Domestic Product figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

The NBS reported that Nigeria’s real GDP grew by 4.43 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, up from the growth recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Wednesday, Rewane said the GDP figure should primarily be viewed as an indication of increased economic output rather than government revenue.

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He explained that with Nigeria’s population estimated to be growing at roughly 2 percent annually, economic expansion of 4.43 percent implies that output is increasing faster than the number of people sharing the economy’s resources.

“Technically, it means that Nigerians should be getting richer because of the increase in output, as far as increasing population,” he said.

Rewane noted that Nigeria’s growth rate was significantly above the estimated global economic growth rate of between 2.3 and 2.4 percent.

He described the performance as encouraging, particularly when compared with the country’s previous growth trajectory.

“The 4.43 percent is actually very good compared to where we were,” Rewane said, adding that Nigeria’s potential GDP growth rate was estimated at about four percent.

He identified oil refining as the fastest-growing activity during the quarter, driven largely by increased investment and the operations of modular refineries.

According to him, growth in the refining segment accelerated from 15.78 per cent in Q2 2025 to 43.94 per cent in Q2 2026.

“The refinery has invested a lot. The modular refineries are also on. So, we have a plus 28 per cent increase,” he said.

Rewane also pointed to the continued dominance of the non-oil economy, which accounted for about 95 percent of total GDP during the period, while the oil sector’s share declined.

Despite the smaller contribution to overall output, he stressed the strategic importance of oil to Nigeria’s economy because of its role in generating foreign exchange.

“But note that oil sector is the primary goose that lays the foreign exchange eggs that we use to drive the economy,” he said.

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The economist said the NBS monitored 46 economic activities in its GDP assessment, with 30 recording expansion, 11 experiencing slower growth and five contracting during the quarter.

He therefore described the overall performance as evidence of improving economic activity.

“So, generally speaking, the economy is doing well in terms of activity levels,” Rewane said.

He further linked the GDP performance to the trend in the Purchasing Managers’ Index, which he described as a leading indicator of economic activity.

According to him, the improvement in the PMI over the preceding three months had signalled stronger business activity, which was subsequently reflected in the second quarter (Q2) GDP figures.

Rewane’s assessment suggests that while the headline growth rate remains modest relative to the size of Nigeria’s economy, the fact that output is expanding faster than population provides a positive signal for per-capita economic growth.

However, translating that expansion into higher household incomes and better living standards would depend on how broadly the gains from economic growth are distributed across the population.