Data show Nigeria’s economy resilient, attractive to investors – Group

The Independent Media and Policy Initiative, IMPI, has said there is verifiable data to show that the Nigerian economy is resilient and attractive to investors.

The group in a statement issued Tuesday by its Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju, on Tuesday in Abuja, said it came to that conclusion after a comparative analysis between Nigeria and some other countries, including the United Kingdom and India.

It stressed that advocacy groups that are always quick to dig up negative narratives, prefer to ignore the many positives in the economy in spite of global headwinds.

The group contended that there are many positive stories from the Nigerian economy to show that the country is on track and urged the opposition to resist the temptation to demarket the country.

It noted that compared to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria’s announcement of 767 companies shutting down in 2023, the Small Business advocacy group in the United Kingdom showed that 345,000 businesses closed in that country.

The group added: “This, by our consideration, is an objective rendition of data. It is obvious that the 767 companies shut down in Nigeria do not in any way come close to the 345,000 closures recorded in the United Kingdom in that same period.

“Neither can the number be compared to the 460,000 companies that shut down every quarter, that is every three months, in China or the 10,655 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs shut down in 2022-2023 in India.

“As routinely rendered, we are further informed by the Indian data that there were over 11,000 new firms started for every one of the 175 shutdowns in 2022.”

The group added that ”while profits at China’s industrial firms fell 2.3 per cent in 2023, their second straight yearly decline, Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistic data showed that Company Income Tax, CIT, rose by 73 per cent year-on-year from N2.82 trillion in the 2022 financial year to N4.89 trillion in the 2023 financial year.

It stressed that this huge profit difference was recorded despite headwinds that had continued to buffet the economic space.

The group pointed out that the indication deriving from this was that whatever might be the challenges inherent in the Nigerian economic space, the country avails investors of the best possible opportunities for returns on investment.

It said, “The impressive CIT accruals into the federation account are validated by the standing of Nigerian-based companies on the Financial Times ranking of Africa’s 100 fastest-growing companies in 2023.

“Nigeria’s incredible showing on that ranking manifests in companies based in the country occupying 27 places with two of them – Afex Commodities Exchange Ltd and Moniepoint Inc – leading the continental pack of 100 companies. This avails Nigeria 27 reasons to be jubilant despite the challenges the country has had to contend with.”

“On the aggregate, this speaks to the resilience of Nigeria’s economy especially when situated in the trajectory of things to happen in the year 2024 coming in the build-up that can be ascribed to the policy deployment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.