
All is set for the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to launch the reports on the rebased Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
NBS’s Director of Communication and Public Relations, Mr. Ichedi, Sunday, who disclosed the development in a statement on Monday revealed that the Bureau would launch the Rebased CPI and GDP by the end of January 2025, during which the full details of the reports would be made available to the public.
TheFact Daily reports that Nigeria embarked on a similar rebasing in 2014, of which the GDP leapt by nearly 90%, elevating nation’s economy to $510 billion and positioning it ahead of South Africa as the largest economy in Africa.
NBS said it is important that CPI is Rebased from time to time because consumption pattern changes, hence the need to update items in the CPI Basket.
“Since the last rebasing, the consumption pattern in Nigeria have changed significantly as shown by changes in the proportion of households’ expenditures on items consumed in the recently conducted Nigeria Living Standards Survey (NLSS), 2023.
“A perfect example of this is the significant increase in the proportion of households’ expenditure on telecommunication compared to other items since the last rebasing of CPI.
“The Changes in Consumption pattern has uttered the basket of goods and services which NBS collects prices on. This means that, the current basket of goods and services needs to be updated to accommodate the new ones.
“Another reason for CPI Rebasing is to bring the price reference period (Base Year) closer to the current period in other to have a relative price that shows current prices movement. In this regard, the Bureau is using 2024 as the base year for the CPI Rebasing,” it said.
On GDP rebasing, it said it is important that GDP is rebased from time to time because of several factors or reasons.
“One of such is the dynamism of the economy in terms of growth and recession. The dimensions of growth and recession need to be properly captured to give more insights into the economic situation of the country.
“Over time, prices and the structure of the economy change due to the introduction of new products and the alteration in the variety of products and services due to technological innovations which calls for the rebasing of the GDP to give a realistic information about the economy at the present.
“The activities of some sectors of the economy have grown tremendously since the last rebasing, making them significant among other sectors of the economy. They include Marine and Blue Economy; Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy;Information and Communication Technology, Innovation and Digital Economy and E-activities. These developments need to be adequately captured in GDP compilation,” NBS said.
It noted that the current rebasing would be using the frameworks for the compilation of National Accounts, such as, the latest International Standard Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC Rev. 4.0), Central Product Classifications (CPC 2.0), and 2008 System of National Accounts (2008 SNA).
NBS said the rebasing exercise would enable policy makers and analysts obtain a more accurate set of economic statistics that is a truer reflection of the current realities for evidence–based decision making. It also reveals a more accurate estimate of the size and structure of the economy by incorporating new economic activities which were not previously captured in the computational framework.
It further explained that the rebasing would enable the government to have a better understanding of the structure of the economy, an indication of sectoral growth drivers, sectors where policies and resources should be channelled in order to grow the economy, create jobs, improve infrastructure and reduce poverty
Reacting to the development, the Statistician – General and Chief Executive Officer of NBS, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran said,
“I would like to assure all Nigerians that the expected Rebased CPI Report will be the best of its kind and will provide further insights into the Nigerian economy.
“We will be excited to share our findings, providing valuable insights into the Nigerian Economy,” he said.
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