Effective Data Gathering Is Essential For Proper Economic Analysis – Commissioner

The Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Sam Egube, has said that proper data gathering, analysis and storage is expedient for real economic planning by the governments at different levels.

Speaking at a stakeholders’ forum on the computation of the Lagos State Gross Domestic Product (GDP) organised by the State Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, held on Thursday in Alausa, Ikeja, Egube added that the forum was geared towards continuous improvement of the State’s GDP.

He said GDP, which he defined as the total monetary value of economic activities (goods and services) produced in a geographical area over a period of time, usually one year, remains one of the best international measures of economic performance and direction.

“The conduct of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) research had been carried out exclusively by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) until recently when the need to quantify the size and structure of the States’ economy became worthwhile to understand the economic-dynamics of the country as well as areas of comparative advantage by the State”, he disclosed.

The Commissioner recalled that the Lagos Bureau of Statistics (LBS) computed the Y2010 GDP for the State from primary sources and was estimated at N12.091 trillion, stating that the Bureau also embarked on the Lagos State GDP estimation for the year 2013- 2018 with the result showing a wide gap in terms of responses and data returns from organised Private Sector, formal and informal business concerns as well as allied multinationals.

He averred that it was, however, discovered that data from key prominent sectors were captured nationally and could only be disaggregated through appropriate proxy by the National Bureau of Statistics to get the Lagos specific data.

Consequently, Egube directed that LBS should establish a functional partnership with the National Bureau of Statistics with a view to jointly producing the State’s Gross Domestic Product (SGDP) on a quarterly basis and finalising the Annual Estimates with the appropriate Lagos State component of the national figures for the State government and the general public.

The Commissioner also solicited the support and collaboration of the Organised Private Sector, formal and informal business associations in the exercise, through cooperation with the field officers that would be visiting the firms/industries for the much-needed data to compute the State’s GDP.