Effect of Information Communication and Technology Services on the Private Sector Practices: Evidence from the Nigerian Manufacturing, Trade and Financial Sectors

Abstract

This paper examined the effect of Information and Communication Technology Services in the private sector of Nigeria using a time series data covering 1983 to 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic while movement is restricted and lockdown across the nation, some businesses were still able to work due to the availability of ICT services, so to what extent has ICT affected the Nigerian Private sector. The data used for this study are secondary data sourced from the National Bureau of Statistics. ICT Services contribution to the Nigeria GDP is used as a proxy to ICT Services while Manufacturing, Trade and the Financial Sector contribution to GDP is used as a proxy for the private sector. The data were analyzed using Least Square Regression Model while the unit root test was conducted using the Augmented Dickey-Fuller test (ADF)for stationarity. The result shows that ICT Services in Nigeria do not have a significant effect on the Nigerian Private Sector. However, it shows a significant effect on the Financial Service sector. It, therefore, recommends that other sectors of the Nigerian private sector like manufacturing should be supported through favourable policies on investment in ICT with less impact on their profit.