ABUJA, Nov 25 (Reuters) – Nigeria’s economy experienced a year-on-year growth of 3.46% in the third quarter of 2024, surpassing the growth rates of the first two quarters, according to data released by the statistics agency on Monday.

The growth was primarily fueled by the services sector, which accounted for over 50% of the total output during the July-September period. This marks an increase from 3.19% in the second quarter and 2.98% in the first quarter. However, the growth rate remains below the 6% target set by President Bola Tinubu upon taking office last year in Africa’s most populous nation and leading oil producer.

President Tinubu’s ambitious reform agenda, initiated in the early days of his administration, raised hopes for revitalizing Nigeria’s sluggish economy. However, 18 months later, key reforms such as naira devaluation and subsidy removal have led to the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation, with limited impact on accelerating economic growth.

The National Bureau of Statistics reported that the services sector grew by 5.19% in the third quarter, contributing 53.58% to the overall GDP. Meanwhile, Nigeria’s oil sector, which is crucial for government revenue and foreign exchange reserves, expanded by 5.17%, with average daily oil production rising to 1.47 million barrels per day (bpd), up from 1.41 million bpd in the previous quarter.

In contrast, growth in agriculture slowed to 1.14%, down from 1.41% in the second quarter, while industrial growth decreased to 2.18% from 3.53% in April-June.

The International Monetary Fund projects that Nigeria’s economy will grow by 2.9% in 2024 and 3.2% in 2025.

(Reporting by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Alexander Winning and Alex Richardson)

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