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Key stakeholders, including the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), labour organisations, and other advocacy groups, have urged the federal government to prioritise exchange rate stability, good governance, and robust infrastructure development.

Nigeria’s rebased GDP outcomes revealed some upward revision in the size and growth of the economy. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shifted the GDP base year from 2010 to 2019, which resulted in Nigeria’s nominal GDP rising to about N205 trillion for 2019 and reaching N372.82 trillion in 2024.

This rebasing indicated a 41.7 per cent increase over the previous 2019 GDP estimates based on the old base year. GDP growth was 3.13 per cent year-on-year in real terms in Q1 2025, up from 2.27 per cent in Q1 2024. Services and industry sectors largely drove the growth.

However, stakeholders have expressed concerns that the reported GDP growth did not fully reflect the economic realities faced by the population.

They noted that despite larger GDP figures, real incomes, poverty rates, and living standards have not seen commensurate improvements, largely due to high inflation, unemployment, and underemployment. Nearly half the population remains in poverty, limiting the positive impact of GDP growth on everyday Nigerians.

The president of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Gabriel Idahosa, said that for the government to ensure inclusive growth by moving away from statistical celebration to strategic economic transformation, “stabilising the naira must be a top priority, which requires restoring FX confidence, boosting non-oil exports, and supporting domestic production.

“Food security must be urgently addressed through input subsidies, storage systems, and improved logistics to combat inflation and hunger. The government must intensify efforts to empower MSMEs and the informal sector through access to finance, aggressive operationalisation of the 2025 Nigerian Tax Reform Act, and deployment of digital tools. We need targeted job creation programmes, especially in agriculture, construction, and technology, backed by aggressive skills development; and restore citizens’ confidence through transparency, social protection, and visible policy implementation,” he advised.

Idahosa noted that improving local refining capacity is expected to ease energy costs, reduce foreign exchange spending, and attract more investments into the oil and gas sector.

He urged the government to continuously monitor inflation and the foreign exchange market, and sustain efforts in fiscal and monetary policy interventions.

While labour groups and economic stakeholders applauded the recently released rebased GDP for the first quarter of 2025, they called on federal, state, and  local governments to enhance good governance and ensure infrastructural development across the country.

For his part, the president of the Food, Beverage, and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOBTOB), Comrade Jimoh Oyibo, advised governments to address infrastructural decay nationwide.

“What is the noise about rebasing when it does not translate into putting food on the table of average Nigerians?

“While the rebasing may have improved statistical indicators such as the debt-to-GDP ratio, it does not address critical issues such as food inflation, widespread poverty, and infrastructure deficits.

“Do a tour of all the states, including Abuja, you will see for yourself the infrastructural decay and neglect by the government. You will also see hunger and hardship written on the faces of many people. Federal, state, or local councils should ensure Nigerians enjoy the benefits of all the statistical figures in real terms,” he said.

Oyibo further said: “Promises of fuel subsidy removal are completely a sham. A country that borrows to steal instead of improving the lives of its citizens is talking of rebasing. According to a recent report, refineries that underwent turnaround maintenance are being pencilled down to be privatised. More staple foods are now beyond the reach of the common man.

“What are the benefits of rebasing when devaluation of the national currency has rendered the Naira one of the weakest currencies in Africa. Businesses are suffocating, hence, giving rise to mass casualisation and outsourcing as many companies and, perhaps government agencies, are struggling to effect payment of the N70,000 National Minimum Wage.”