Analysts link Nigeria's sluggish economy in Q1 to fuel scarcity

According to reports from the May 2023 Consensus Forecast on sub-Saharan Africa by analysts at FocusEconomics, fuel shortages as well as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s naira policy, stressed the country's economic growth during the first quarter.

Several states in Q1, 2023 experienced serious fuel shortages which were linked to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL's inability to supply enough fuel across the country.

The shortage had caused a face-off between petroleum marketers and the private depot owners as they were blamed for not making the product - PMS available to marketers when due.

Due to the shortages and scarcity of the product, the private depot operators reportedly started selling to marketers above the recommended government-approved price.

Petrol prices shot up to as high as ₦450 per litre in some petrol stations operated by marketers while some other major marketers increased their prices between ₦250 and ₦280 per litre.

Most SMEs and small businesses in the country faced immense difficulties during the period and this further caused an increment in the price of goods and services across the country.

On a national scale, there was slow credit growth within the first two months of 2023 from the fourth quarter of 2022 while Foreign Direct Investment, FDI in the country dropped by around 33 percent in 2022.

On the projections for 2023 and 2024, the FocusEconomics report downplayed Nigeria’s economic growth as the country is currently facing double-digit inflation, record-high borrowing costs and shaky public finances.