Netizens have called on the National Bureau of Statistics to include armed robbery, ritual killing and internet fraud in its computation of Nigeria’s gross domestic product in mockery of the bureau’s plan to add illicit drugs to the country’s GDP indicators.

On Thursday, the NBS disclosed a plan to include drug peddling and other illegal activities in Nigeria’s GDP at a sensitisation workshop on GDP and Consumer Price Index (CPI) rebasing, organised in collaboration with the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) in Lagos. 

During the workshop, Baba Madu, the NBS head of national accounts, explained that including illegal activities in the GDP estimation aligns with best practices.

Adeyemi Adeniran, statistician-general of the federation and CEO of the NBS, spoke about the importance of GDP and CPI rebasing.

Mr Adeniran explained that rebasing “our GDP and CPI allow us to align with these transformations, providing a more precise and relevant picture of Nigeria’s economic landscape.” 

This latest approach to recalibrating the nation’s GDP has drawn the ire of several Nigerians online.

An X user, @Bonnyjoe11, said, “It’s an act of desperation. I hope they include armed robbery, banditry and rituals to cover all illicit activities.”

Another user, @KingEmelex, added, “Very soon, they may add skull mining and kidnapping to Nigeria’s GDP indicators.”

@oluwaseun_ajede suggested, “Let’s include banditry, Lakurawa, Yahoo Yahoo, IPOB, Almajiri, armed robbery, kidnapping, and oil bunkering in the economy to inflate the GDP figures.”

Others questioned the NBS’ decision, with some referencing President Bola Tinubu’s past involvement in drug trafficking when he forfeited $460,000 to the U.S. government in the 1990s.

“Is it okay and official now to say that @officialABAT is a drug lord who stole his way into power and is now trying to make drug-dealing official in Nigeria?” asked @velele17.