The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says it plans to conduct a census of businesses in Nigeria. If the exercise goes ahead as planned, it will be the first survey of businesses in the country in more than 20 years.
Statistician-General of the Federation, Dr. Yemi Kale, disclosed this at a stakeholder workshop of the National Census of Commercial and Industrial Businesses (NCCIB), held in Asaba, Delta State on Thursday.
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Dr. Kale, who also heads the NBS, explained that the census would supply the government with the data it needs for its economic planning and management efforts. The data would cover various sectors of the economy, and help the government track their contribution to the country’s gross output.
He also said that the survey would enable the NBS to classify existing businesses according to their size and structure and determine their spread and concentration across the country.
Speaking on the challenges of covering the country’s various regions, Dr. Kale explained that the NBS had already divided the country into blocks ahead of the exercise. He said the delineation would help prevent overlaps in the data collection process.
The NBS, which is Nigeria’s main statistical agency, had earlier announced that it would be collaborating with the World Bank to carry out the census. The World Bank will be providing technical support, including technology to be used by census agents on the field.
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The stakeholder meeting at Asaba had been organized to sensitize concerned individuals and organizations in the lead up to the census. A similar meeting was held in Kaduna for stakeholders in 18 Northern states.
Plans for a nationwide survey of businesses were made public in 2016. At the time, Dr. Kale had said the project would help authorities come up with a more precise GDP estimate for the country. It had been slated for 2017 but had to be postponed due to challenges with funding and logistics.
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