Tasi’u Hassan
Adamawa State policymakers have taken a significant step towards computing the state Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
During a one day sensitization workshop on state Gross Domestic Product organized by the Adamawa State Planning Commission in collaboration with the State Bureau of Statistics, the policy makers pledged to work with relevant stakeholders towards having an acceptable GDP for the state.
In her address, the Executive Chairman of the State Planning Commission, Dr. Mary Paninga, said currently, Adamawa state doesn’t have a Gross Domestic Product, noting that only 22 out of the 36 states in the federation have one.
According to Dr. Paninga, this necessitates the sensitization workshop and other initiatives to ensure Adamawa is enlisted among the states with a GDP.
She said GDP is very critical as it helps the policy makers to formulate effective economic strategies, develop developmental projects, and allocate efficient resources for sustainability, growth and development, among others.
Dr. Mary Paninga encouraged business owners at all levels to release the necessary information to data collectors for the measurement of the GDP, stating that there’s no need for mistrust or hiding information.
Speaking on the work done so far on the current State Gross Domestic Project Compilation, the State Statistician General, Mr. Yohanna Yakubu Dzarma, said 75% of the data on industries, organizations and establishments had been transmitted to the National Bureau of Statistics in November 2024, explaining that the outstanding data is expected to be transmitted on 17th January, 2025.
Represented by Director Research and Methodology, Adamawa State Bureau of Statistics, Bartholomew Chidama, said “I’m delighted that this sensitization workshop is timely and will provide a platform and support to consolidate on what the States Bureaus of Statistics in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics had already done with regards to compilation of SGD”.
During the sensitization workshop at the Conference Hall of the Adamawa State Planning Commission, Mr. Kenan Allahdon of USAID State2State presented a paper on data collection and analysis.
Meanwhile, Mr. Elhanas Stephen, Assistant Chief Statistician at the Adamawa State Bureau of Statistics, highlighted inadequate framing, limitations in granular data, and insufficient funding to capture the informal sector as some of the challenges of computing the Gross Domestic Product.
