A one-day Stakeholders Engagement on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Survey has been organized by the Edo State Government through its Bureau of Statistics (ESBS) in cooperation with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the World Bank in order to realize the goal of an accurate GDP.
Participants at the Benin City interaction included representatives from the commercial sector as well as a number of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
The goal of the engagement, according to Mr. Bashiru Abiebhode, Statistician General, Edo State Bureau of Statistics, is to inform stakeholders and business owners about impending enumeration exercises so they can provide accurate information, which is necessary to calculate the precise GDP of Edo State.
Mr. Abiebhode disclosed that there would be training for 50 enumerators, who are solely statisticians designated for the enumeration exercise to ensure accuracy and to cover all sectors of the economy.
The goal of the stakeholder event, according to Mr. David Obianubi, State Coordinator, Edo State Bureau of Statistics, is to get the heads of MDAs and captains of industries to be more willing to articulate the State’s GDP.
He emphasized that GDP illustrates how the state’s economic structure compares to other states, and that the engagement provides insight into the enumeration process to reduce the fear of providing false data based on alleged tax premises.
Additionally, Prince Yemi Adeniran, the Statistician General of the Federation, represented by Mr. Emmanuel Agbebaku, the State Coordinator of the National Bureau of Statistics, emphasized that the collaboration highlights the significance of data-driven decision making in fostering economic growth and development across the subnationals.
Mr. Noma Eguesehi, the Chairman of the Nigerian Association of Small-scale Industries, among other participants, praised the State Bureau of Statistics’ efforts to start a dialogue and push for stakeholder collaboration, adding that without the participation of the actual stakeholders, it is impossible to determine GDP growth.
