Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has committed to production of statistics and generation of reliable data for proper planning and effective management of the state’s economy.
He gave the assurance in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday during the flag-off of the computation of the State Gross Domestic Product (SGDP) for 2018-2022.
The governor, who was represented by the Head of Service, Sunday Komolafe, noted that computation of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would aid planning and formulation of policies that will ultimately bring robust development of the state.
Mr Oyebanji said that GDP was important as it gives information about the size of the economy and its performance. He added that the growth rate of real GDP is often used as an indicator of the general health of the economy.
He reiterated his commitment to the provision of quality data that are accurate, complete, valid, consistent, unique, timely and fit for purpose, which investors could also leverage on to take critical decisions.
It is believed that the exercise would assist the state government in giving priority to sectors of the economy where interventions are needed.
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“The GDP is one of the essential indicators that will help us to clearly see the picture of where we are and enable us to do peer-review with the other states in the federation. It is often said that what cannot be measured cannot be successfully managed, hence we are placing a high premium on the production of statistics for use in the state,” he said.
While appreciating the efforts and cooperation of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the private sector operators, Mr Oyebanji maintained that the present administration was poised to ensure an even development across the state without political sentiment or prejudice.
In his welcome address, the Commissioner for Budget, Economic Planning and Performance Management, Niyi Adebayo, noted that the exercise was timely.
He said this was so because of the need to measure the size of the economy, identify the major drivers and determine the areas the government should focus on for additional growth and development.
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