GDP rebasing’ll boost economy, says minister
Usman, who gave the advice during a two-day Sensitisation Workshop on Nigeria’s GDP Rebasing Exercise in Abuja, noted that this was the only way to ensure sustainable economic development.
He said the GDP measures the value of the total economic output at a particular period of time, and remains the single most universally accepted measure of economic output for international comparison.
He maintained that the attainment of the nation’s Vision 20:2020, is dependent on the availability of reliable GDP estimates.
He said: “It is critically important that the nation’s GDP estimates are accurate as possible, adequately capturing historical changes and developments over time, appropriately depicting the present realities and sufficient enough to serve as basis for future projections.”
The Statistician-General of the Federation, Dr. Yemi Kale, said that the tentative figures of the rebased GDP will be released in December upon completion of the nine scheduled surveys, while the final figures would be announced next year at the end of the two major censuses planned as part of the rebasing exercise
He restated the strategic importance of the project to national development, and canvassed stakeholders’ support for the exercise as an option for the realisation of the broad policy objectives of the Transformation Agenda, as well as those of the broader Vision 20:2020.
Kale, who spoke elaborately on various initiatives by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to improve the quality of the Nigerian statistical system, described the GDP rebasing project as coming at an auspicious time after over 23 years of the last exercise, designed to help in updating Nigeria’s GDP in a way that would reflect the accurate value added of the production of goods and services in all sectors.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Senior Country Representative in Nigeria, Scott Rogers, said the effort to rebase the GDP, would help Nigeria’s efforts being targeted at using reliable and timely statistical data as economic tool for effective planning, and implementing of governments’ policies at national and sub-national levels.
Commending the NBS for the initiative, the IMF chief was optimistic that the successful completion of the exercise would improve Nigeria’s ratings in terms of her economic capacity and opportunities.
- The Nation
