By Adedapo Adesanya

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has announced the rebasing of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data, with 2019 selected as the new base year from the previous 2010.

The GDP is used to gauge the size of the Nigerian economy.

This decision, according to the NBS, was driven by the year’s status as a period of “relative economic stability” compared to other recent years, which were marked by significant economic shocks.

This was disclosed on Thursday during a sensitisation workshop on GDP and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rebasing, organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group and the stats office in Lagos.

Speaking during his presentation, Mr Moses Waniko, the Technical Assistant to the Statistician General also said “Some major surveys that served as inputs into the rebasing covered this period. 2020, 2021 and 2022 were avoided as base years due to economic instabilities – this follows IMF guidelines.”

The agency noted further that 2019 was chosen because “other sector-specific administrative data for this period were collected.”

He noted further that the newly rebased GDP figures would be unveiled by the end of January.

In October 2024, the NBS revealed its plans to rebase both the GDP and CPI to reflect current economic realities and account for structural changes in the economy.

Mr Waniko explained that the data collection process is nearing completion.

However, he said the results will still need to undergo validation before the official launch at the end of the month.

“We’re currently concluding the rebasing. We need to validate the results, and then we have to do a launch; we are looking at the end of January to do that launch, to disseminate the numbers, and then, usually, there are post-rebasing activities that will happen.”

He noted several key benefits the rebased GDP would have on the national economy.

He also emphasised that the GDP rebasing should be viewed not only in terms of aggregate numbers but also in terms of their distribution, weights, and contributions across different sectors.

“It is good to look at the rebasing from different angles, not just the aggregate numbers, but to look at what those numbers are supposed to tell us, in terms of the distribution, the aggregate numbers, in terms of their weights, contributions and the rest.

“Beyond that, there are other implications for the national economy, which we have tried to put in this slide. The first is rebasing will provide or allow for an Economic and Development Plan.

“The second is that the rebasing will really help to provide a good trajectory for the economy. So beyond this, it’s important to also state that after the rebasing, there are certain things that we expect that might change, such as changes in the size of the structure of the economy.

“We expect that the size of the economy will be bigger.”

“The tax-to-GDP ratio is something that people may want to see what the numbers would look like. Debt to GDP ratio of 18.5 per cent as of September 2019 could also reduce with the bigger size of the GDP, and then per-capita income will increase after the rebasing,” he added.

By Dipo Olowookere

A popular stock trading platform in Nigeria, Yochaa, has informed its customers of a planned disruption in service this weekend.

In a notice, the company said it was carrying out “a major upgrade to our mobile app” between 5 pm of Friday, January 10, 2025, and 10 pm of Sunday, January 12, 2025.

It explained that the decision to upgrade its mobile trading platform was “part of our commitment to improving your experience and the quality of our services.”

“This upgrade is part of our efforts to deliver a more seamless, secure, and efficient experience for you.

“Once completed, you can look forward to improved service reliability and enhanced features to better support your investment journey,” the firm said.

During this period, “Deposits and withdrawals for NGN wallets will be unavailable” and there would be “limited access to portfolio and tracker services.”

In the statement seen by Business Post, Yochaa, however, said, “All US services, including deposits and withdrawals, will remain fully operational.”

It added that, “All Yochaa Lounge services including Yochaa Investment Assistant, will remain fully operational,” noting that, “While some services will be limited, you’ll still be able to access your account, monitor your portfolio, and trade on US markets without interruption.”

“We appreciate your understanding as we work to serve you better. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to our support team,” Yochaa stated.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange depreciated by 0.02 per cent on Wednesday, January 8 following mild profit-taking by market participants, who showed a sign of panic trading.

This resulted in a marginal decline in the market capitalisation by N560 million to N1.056 trillion, the same value of the preceding trading session, as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) slid by 0.18 points to wrap the session at 3,081.91 points compared with 3,082.47 points recorded at the previous session.

Business Post reports that Geo-Fluids Plc suffered a decline of 4 Kobo at midweek to sell at N4.85 per share versus the previous session’s N4.89 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 12 Kobo to close at N16.00 per unit, in contrast to Tuesday’s closing price of N16.12 per unit.

However, the price of First Trust Microfinance Bank Plc increased by 3 Kobo yesterday to settle at 37 Kobo per share compared with the previous day’s value of 34 Kobo per share.

There was a 5,943.8 per cent surge in the volume of securities traded in the session as investors exchanged 3.6 million units compared to 59,432 units traded in the preceding session and the value of shares traded yesterday increased by 1,641.7 per cent to N36.6 million from the N2.1 million achieved a day earlier, while the number of deals carried out went up by 133.3 per cent to 14 deals from six deals.

At the close of transactions, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc was the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 1.9 million units valued at N74.2 million, followed by 11 Plc with 12,963 units worth N3.2 million, and Industrial and General Insurance  (IGI )Plc with 10.7 million units sold for N2.1 million.

But the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) was IGI Plc with 10.6 million units worth N2.1 million, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 1.9 million units sold for N74.2 million, and Acorn Petroleum Plc followed with 1.2 million units valued at N1.9 million.