The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has hailed the country’s 4.07% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the fourth quarter of 2025 as evidence that the Federal Government’s economic reforms are beginning to deliver results.
Reacting to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday, February 27, 2026, Edun described the performance as one of the strongest quarterly showings in recent years.
In a statement issued on Saturday by the ministry’s Assistant Director of Information, Mrs Uloma Amadi, the minister linked the growth to ongoing fiscal and structural reforms under President Bola Tinubu, particularly efforts aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and tightening public finance management.
Strongest Growth Outside Post-COVID Rebound
Edun noted that Nigeria has only crossed 4% quarterly growth twice in the past decade, excluding the sharp rebound recorded after the COVID-19 lockdowns.
“This marks the second time in a decade, excluding the immediate post-pandemic rebound, that quarterly growth has exceeded 4%. It follows the 4.23% growth recorded in Q2 2025 and represents a clear improvement from 3.76% in Q3 2024,” he said.
The minister stressed the latest figures show a steady upward trend rather than a one-off spike.
Agriculture, Industry and Services Post Broad Gains
Unlike previous growth cycles that leaned heavily on the services sector, Edun said the Q4 2025 expansion was broad-based, with Agriculture, Industry and Services all recording solid gains.
According to the NBS report, agriculture grew by 4.0%, up from 2.54% in Q4 2024. The improvement was attributed to better security in key food-producing areas and improved access to seeds and fertilisers.
Industry expanded by 3.88%, compared to 2.49% in the same period a year earlier. Edun pointed to improved foreign exchange liquidity, reforms in the energy sector and rising investor confidence as key drivers.
The services sector, which is the largest contributor to Nigeria’s GDP, grew by 4.15%, supported by strong activity in banking, telecommunications and technology-driven trade.
Economy Hits N441.5 Trillion in 2025
For the full year 2025, Nigeria’s real GDP growth stood at 3.87%, an improvement from 3.38 per cent recorded in 2024.
Edun disclosed that the size of the economy rose sharply to N441.5 trillion in 2025, up from N372.8 trillion the previous year.
He said the increase means stronger revenue mobilisation, tighter expenditure control and continued structural reforms aimed at rebuilding confidence in the economy.
Investor Confidence and Sector Diversification
The finance minister also stressed that the growth was not driven by a handful of sectors. He noted that about 30 subsectors expanded by more than 3%, denoting wider economic diversification.
According to him, the data sends a positive signal to both domestic and foreign investors who have been watching Nigeria’s reform programme closely.
“The data reinforces confidence among domestic and international investors and signals that Nigeria’s reform programme is gaining traction. The Ministry of Finance remains committed to sustained reform implementation, institutional coordination and transparent engagement with stakeholders,” he said.
The latest NBS report confirms that while services are the biggest component in the economy, agriculture and industry are gradually strengthening their contribution, a development analysts say could support more balanced and resilient growth in 2026.
