Trending 
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has acknowledged that Nigeria’s non-oil sector significantly supported economic growth in the second half of last year.
In its Monthly Oil Market Report released on Wednesday, OPEC stated that Nigeria’s economy remained resilient in the latter half of 2025, recording solid growth despite global headwinds. It noted that robust non-oil activity partly compensated for weaker performance in the oil sector.
The report, citing primary sources, showed that Nigeria’s crude oil output edged down to 1.422 million barrels per day in December 2025 from 1.436 million bpd in November. OPEC data further revealed that Nigeria last met its production quota in July 2025, with output staying below target from August to December. Quarterly figures also indicated a steady decline throughout the year.
OPEC attributed improving domestic and external conditions to easing inflation, a stronger naira, reduced refined fuel imports and increased remittance inflows. It projected a further slowdown in inflation, driven by earlier monetary tightening, currency stability and seasonal harvest effects, although it stressed that monetary policy remains restrictive.
While welcoming continued disinflation, OPEC cautioned that Nigeria’s persistently high policy rate could weigh on aggregate demand in the near term. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Wale Edun signalled that interest rate cuts could follow if inflation continues to moderate, a move that could ease borrowing costs and reduce the government’s debt servicing burden.
The National Bureau of Statistics also announced plans to publish two inflation figures for December to address distortions caused by recent changes to the consumer price index methodology, in a bid to ensure transparency.
