Yusuf Bello| President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday accused the World Bank and International Monetary Fund of publishing inaccurate figures about Nigeria.
The President has, therefore, urged Nigerians to be wary of statistics from the world bodies.
Buhari who highlighted the significant role which an accurate collection of data can play in the country’s social and economic planning noted that local institutions are better suited over foreign agencies to collate such records.
The president made this statement after a meeting with the presidential economic advisory council (ECA).
“I am pleased to hear you mention the need for us to domesticate our policies to reflect our local realities. We are grateful for the cooperation we are getting from our friends abroad but we must move forward with homegrown solutions. This is the only way to ensure the suitability and sustainability of policies.”
“Suitability is essential for effective implementation while Sustainability is critical as any decision made today will impact future generations.
“As you develop your baseline study, I would like you to focus on primary data collection. Today, most of the statistics quoted about Nigeria are developed abroad by the World Bank, IMF and other foreign bodies. Some of the statistics we get relating to Nigeria are wild estimates and bear little relation to the facts on the ground.
“This is disturbing as it implies, we are not fully aware of what is happening in our own country.
“We can only plan realistically when we have reliable data. As you are aware, as a government, we prioritised agriculture as a critical sector to create jobs and bring prosperity to our rural communities.”
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