Nigeria intends to update its gross domestic product and inflation data by the end of the month to account for changes in specific sectors of the economy and to better represent current consumption patterns, according to the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday.
The statistics office reported that certain sectors of Nigeria’s economy have seen considerable growth since the last GDP rebasing in 2014 and now need appropriate representation.
According to the report, the sectors included the marine economy, arts, culture and tourism, as well as information and communication technology and e-commerce activities.
Although it is premature to determine the effects of the rebasing, economists have suggested that Nigeria may seek to create a more attractive investment proposition to draw back foreign capital that departed following its recent crisis.
The rebasing in 2014 positioned Nigeria as Africa’s largest economy.
President Bola Tinubu embarked on bold reforms after he took office in 2023 by scrapping a decades-old petrol subsidy and devaluing the naira currency in an effort to jump-start growth.
Tinubu’s reforms have worsened already high inflation and escalated a cost of living crisis in Africa’s most populous nation.
The statistics office said consumption pattern in Nigeria have changed significantly since the last inflation rebasing in 2009. It plans to use 2024 as the new base year for inflation.
Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 34.80%, opens new tab in December from 34.60% in November, the statistics office said last week, noting that food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed the most to price pressures.
Tinubu said in a budget speech in December that he expected inflation to fall to 15% this year, helped by lower imports of petroleum products.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")