Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has approved the conduct of an exercise leading to the computation and compilation of the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first time since it was created in 1967.

The exercise will be conducted along with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), according to a statement by the State Bureau of Statistics.

In a press release issued by the Press Secretary of the bureau, Alabi Taiwo, the governor has given approval for the conduct of the exercise.

He said, “The Bureau of Statistics has received an approval of His Excellency for the exercise which is the first of its kind in the history of the state.

“The bureau consequently invites stakeholders to attend a sensitisation programme on the computation and compilation of the GDP. The stakeholders’ meeting is slated for Saturday, July 6, 2024 at the State Banquet Hall in Ilorin.

“The exercise is part of the socio-economic indicators to drive growth and development in the state.”

The exercise will begin on July 13, 2024.

Speaking on the development, the pioneer Permanent Secretary of the Bureau of Statistics, Alhaji Nasiru Ibrahim, said the exercise will be a historic step for the state as it is the first since Kwara was created.

“What we had in 2011/2012 was a rebased GDP exercise conducted by the NBS with the base year being 1990. Unfortunately, Kwara did not pay the counterpart funds of about N14.1m to have its own data.

“What has been in use was the UN estimates for every state according to a 2007 UNDP Report. Since 2012, the bureau had been asking Kwara to pay its counterpart funds, but it wasn’t paid. Essentially, Kwara has not conducted GDP exercise since its creation, and that means a whole lot. I am the happiest person that this is happening, because we have always been calling for it,” he said.