THE ROLE OF THE CEMENT INDUSTRY IN DRIVING ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA

Abstract The study examined role of the cement industry in driving economic growth in Nigeria. The study made used of time series annual data for the period of 1990-2023, the ordinary least square (OLS) regression analysis was used to capture the model in line with objectives of the study. the study use expose factor research design. The result showed that Government fixed capital formation (GFCF), Interest rate (INT),Real exchange rate (REX), Gross Fixed capital formation (GFC) and income tax revenue increase economic growth of Nigeria. Descriptive Statistics OLS estimation using the Augmented Dickey Fuller test fixed capital formation (GFCF) which was a proxy for capital intensity have a positive and significant impact on the current levels of economic growth (GDP). Interest rate (INT) which was used to capture the financing cost and the effective exchange rate (EXR) were found to be positively related with GDP but without a substantial impact on GDP. Specifically, a 1% increase in INT and N1 increase in REX lead to 0.008% and 0.0008% in GDP respectively. The findings of the study show that cement product drives economic growth given the significant impact of the major variables such as the company income tax. These results underscore the importance of expanding the industrialization strategies of the country and promote the growth and development of industries in general and cement industry in particular, The result concluded that company income tax has a positive but significant impact on economic growth, with the highest magnitude as compared with the other variables. Policies such as improving tax administration as well as offering targeted incentives for specific industries is strongly recommended that interest rate was found to have a positive but insignificant impact on economic growth, it is recommended that deliberate control and managing of the interest rate should be put in place to ensure the stability of interest rate which can attract investors and increasing economic growth.