The Statistician-General of the Federation/CEO of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, has stated that the planned rebasing of Nigeria’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is being done without any ulterior motive or favour to any entity.
Speaking during a sensitisation workshop organised by BudgIT yesterday in Abuja, Adeniran said the revision of both economic indicators in the country was due to accurately reflect the current structure of the economy, incorporating new and emerging sectors, updating the consumption basket and defining data collection methods.
He added that the rebasing is being carried out concurrently due to availability of funds to engage in the exercise which, he said, should have been done every five years as recommended by international organisations.
“It is not carried out for any ulterior motives. It is not carried out to favour any entity or private organisation. It is carried out simply to measure accurately in line with the global best practices and standards, the economy, the structure, the consumption pattern of our citizens.
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“This is our responsibility as the official producer of data in Nigeria. Through this open process, we are further committing to maintaining an open dialogue with all stakeholders, including the civil society organisations.”
On his part, the Country Director of BudgIT Nigeria, Gabriel Okeowo, said a surgical review of data to be released must be in tandem with the everyday realities of Nigerians.
“A lot of people carry a lot of skepticism around this revision that we are doing or this CPI rebalancing that we’re doing because it will be as if it is a deliberate intention to make the government look good.
“But one thing that we know is that you cannot hide bad data. At the end of the day, it will show up in the lived experiences of people.”