Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that value-added tax (VAT) generated in the first quarter of this year was N588.59 billion, a growth of 18.58 percent year-on-year from N496.39 billion in Q1 2021.
VAT grew by 4.41 percent quarter-on-quarter from N563.72 billion in the fourth quarter of last year.
According to the NBS, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, the activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies recorded the highest growth rate with 469.32 percent, followed by water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities with 47.62 percent.
While some sectors had positive growth rates, some other sectors had negative growth rates.
Here are the five sectors that suffered the biggest declines in VAT.
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
VAT from the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector declined by 31.04 percent quarter-on-quarter to N827.58 million in Q1 2022.
The agricultural sector contributed 22.36 percent to overall GDP in real terms in Q1 2022, higher than the contribution (22.35 percent) in the same period of 2021 and lower than that (26.84 percent) of Q4 2021.
Wale Oyekoya, an agriculturalist and former chairman of the agriculture and non-oil sector group at Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the agricultural sector in Nigeria is being plagued with insecurity issues.
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“Insecurity in the country keeps farmers away from accessing their farms since a hostile environment would also affect the yield during production, as farmers won’t be able to manage their farms properly the way they ought to,” he added.
Real estate
Real estate activities emerged second on the list with a decline of 18.74 percent quarter-on-quarter to N822 million in Q1 2022 from N1.01 billion in Q4 2021.
The sector contributed 5.34 percent to real GDP in Q1 2022, higher than the 5.28 percent it recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2021.
The sector has been faced with challenges such as fluctuating costs of project development, inflation rates, contractors’ time inefficiencies, the fluctuating exchange rate, which has severely impacted the procurement of construction material, and other limitations.
Transportation and storage
The VAT generated from the transportation and storage sector fell by 17.06 percent to N13.57 billion in Q1 2022 from N16.37 billion in Q4 2021.
The contribution of the sector to real GDP in the Q1 2022 stood at 1.10 percent, a fall from the 1.38 percent recorded in the preceding year and lower than the 1.65 percent recorded in Q4 2021.
The transportation sector has seen a surge in diesel prices as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war, increasing the cost of goods and services; high traffic congestion; kidnappings along various transit routes, and poor road conditions, among other things.
Arts, entertainment, and recreation
The VAT from arts, entertainment, and recreation declined by 17 percent to N679.42 million quarter-on-quarter from N818.65 million in Q4 2021.
Art, entertainment, and recreation contributed 0.30 percent to real GDP in Q1 2022, unchanged from Q1 2021 contribution and higher than the 0.20 percent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Human health and social work activities
Human health and social work activities ranked fifth on the list of sectors with the biggest declines in VAT. The VAT from the sector declined by 13.65 percent quarter-on-quarter to N653 million in Q1 2022 from N755.61 million in Q4 2021.
The contribution of human health and social services to real GDP was 0.73 percent in Q1 2022, up from the 0.66 percent recorded for the preceding quarter.
Some of the challenges faced by the sector include low funding and poor staffing.
