NBS Explains Why Rebasing Nation’s Gross Domestic Product, Consumer Price Index

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has explained that it was long overdue to rebase the nation’s economic indices to take into account changes in sectoral growth  as well as macroeconomic indicators so as to guide policy makers in planning and implementation.

Foremost, the last rebasing exercise was done in 2014 whereas the United Nations Statistical Commission recommended that countries should rebase every five years to reflect more updated economic conditions.

NBS made this disclosure at the Sensitisation Workshop for Stakeholders on the GDP and CPI Rebasing Exercise on Thursday.

According to Prof Ode Ojowu, former economic adviser to the then President Olusegun Obasanjo and CEO of National planning, the need for latest moves to rebase is informed by the fact that, “Since the last rebasing in 2014, Nigeria has witnessed a structural shift in the field of technology and digital sectors, encompassing the rise and adoption of fintech, e-commerce, and digital service; in Agriculture, there is the spring up of various agricultural value chains like agribusiness, processing, commodity exchanges and export activities; in renewable energy, we witness the growth in solar and other renewable energy production.

“The skit industry, Nollywood and music production in the entertainment and creative industry have gained international recognition; the growth in urbanization and infrastructural development have enhanced the value of real estate among other sectoral shifts that the rebasing of the CPI and GDP will capture.”

Prof. Ojowu however, lamented that while NBS is committed to providing reliable, timely social and economic statistics, but data on Nigeria’s population are outdated.

“The population census was last conducted in 2006, and since then, all population data are based on projections.  The non-conduct of the census at regular intervals by the National Population Commission has made population data unreliable and by that score has reduced the value of the NBS data when combined with the projected population data in policymaking”, he complained.

The Statistician General of the Federation, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, explained that the workshop was not only to sensitise participants as critical stakeholders in the process but to also solicit feedback, inputs, and support towards achieving an output that will satisfy the needs of all users and reflect a better picture and understanding of the nation’s economy.

“As a matter of fact, we are expanding the system to accommodate more stakeholders (producers, suppliers, users) of data, to ensure that we harness all available avenues and opportunities to collect, process, and disseminate statistics to support policy decision-making and monitoring in Nigeria”, he added.