From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Ahead of the launch of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Gross Domestic Products (GDP), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has stated the benefits of both reports stating that GDP rebasing’ll enable policymakers obtain an accurate set of economic statistics. The NBS said this verdict is a true reflection of the current realities for evidence–based decision making, while CPI rebasing will serve as an input into monetary and fiscal policy formulation.
The bureau said GDP will also reveal 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.
Rebasing, according to NBS, will enable government to have a better understanding of the structure of the economy, an indication of sectoral growth drivers where policies and resources should be channelled in order to grow the economy, create jobs, improve infrastructure and reduce poverty
“We will be excited to share our findings, providing valuable insights into the Nigerian Economy”, Statistician–General of National Bureau of Statistics, Adeyemi Adeniran, said.
In a statement, Director of Communication and Public Relations of NBS, Sunday Ichedi said that the bureau will be launching the rebased GDP by the end of January 2025, during which the full details of the report will be made available to the public.
Similarly, Ichedi said that the essence of rebasing the CPI is to provide data for informed decision making.
“CPI is a number which shows movement of aggregate price level and is an important macro – economic variable of a country. The last CPI rebasing was conducted in 2009.
“It is important that CPI is rebased because consumption pattern changes and hence the need to update items in the CPI basket. Since the last rebasing, the consumption pattern in Nigeria has 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.
“An example is the 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” he noted.
Listing the benefits of CPI, Ichedi noted that it would produce item weights that reflect the current consumption pattern of households.
“It produces up – to – date CPI basket.
Rebased CPI reflects current price volatility
It serves as an input into monetary and fiscal policy formulation
The outcome of the rebasing can be compared with other countries’ CPI because international standards were followed in the process of rebasing the CPI
The rebased CPI will serve as a veritable source of information for researchers and students of higher institutions in Nigeria and outside the country
“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” NBS further explained.ENDS
The bureau will be launching the Rebased CPI by the end of January 2025, after which the full details of the report will be made available to the public.
ENDS