Economists have urged the federal government to harness Nigeria’s natural endowments and value chains to accelerate gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

The economists, Pat Utomi and Tunde Adeoye, spoke in separate interviews on Thursday in Lagos.

Mr Utomi, co-founder of the Lagos Business School, urged the government to replicate strategies adopted by China to stimulate economic expansion.

He said government should support the development of regional factor endowments and their associated value chains across the country.

Mr Utomi said, “The government should support the harnessing of the factor endowment and its value chain in various regions of the country.

“We should prioritise, for instance, North-West gum Arabic, North-Central sesame seeds, South-South hydrocarbons, and this should be replicated nationwide.”

He stated that government policies should support productive activities through the establishment of industrial and business clusters.

“Then the government should incentivise them with temporary protective policies that will enable them to grow and export to the international market,” he said.

He noted that Nigeria’s current economic growth rate remained inadequate when measured against the country’s fertility and population growth rates.

Mr Utomi said stronger growth was necessary to create jobs, improve incomes and support long-term economic stability.

On his part, Mr Adeoye of the Department of Economics, University of Lagos, said increased investment in agriculture would stimulate GDP growth.

According to him, improved funding for subsidised farming equipment and agricultural inputs would significantly raise food production nationwide.

“Government allocating more funds to subsidised farming equipment and inputs will boost food output and increase raw materials for production.

“Then the sector could contribute more to GDP growth than what it is currently doing,” he said.

Mr Adeoye also urged the government to prioritise infrastructure renewal, especially within the electricity sector, to improve industrial productivity.

“Allocating more budgetary votes to fix electricity would boost productivity in the country. Which will reduce the cost of production and ensure economic development,” he said.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released the country’s first quarter 2026 GDP report on Monday.

According to the report, Nigeria’s economy grew by 3.89 per cent year-on-year in real terms during the first quarter of 2026.

The figure represented a decline from the 4.07 per cent growth recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025.

However, the growth remained higher than the 3.13 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2025.

The NBS also reported moderate growth of 4.31 per cent compared with 4.33 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.

(NAN)