During the 17th Annual Banking and Finance Conference, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, represented by the Managing Director of Ministry of Finance Incorporated, Dr Armstrong Takang, revealed that Nigeria’s financial sector grew by over 30% in the first half of 2024.
He remarked that the boost significantly enhanced Nigeria’s economic stability by demonstrating an impressive comeback from the contractions seen in 2021, as reported by the Punch newspaper.
“The financial sector continues to demonstrate resilience, rebounding strongly from the contractions observed in 2021. The sector has grown by over 30 per cent during the first half of this year, further bolstering our overall economic stability,” the minister explained.
Notwithstanding the difficulties Nigerians faced in certain sectors, the Nigerian economy, according to the minister, showed positive signs of growth.
He disclosed that the country’s GDP had improved, growing at a faster pace in Q2 of 2024 than it had in the first quarter, jumping from 3% to 3.2%, with the goal of hitting 3.7% by the end of the year.
“Our commitment to continue reforms aims to achieve a 3.7 per cent growth target by year-end,” he said.
He also mentioned the oil and gas sector, and the non-oil and gas sectors, both of which he said also recorded some growth. The non-oil sector had a growth of 2.8% in the first half of the year.
“The oil and gas sector saw a notable increase of 10 per cent during the second quarter and a significant rebound from the contraction experienced in the same period last year,” he said.
The minister went on to highlight the administration’s success in generating funds, pointing out that federal government income in the first half of 2024 was N9.1 trillion, more than twice as much as it was in the same period the previous year.
