Statistician-General canvasses for independent state bureaux

The Statistican-General of the Federation, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran has called for the passage and establishment of independent Bureaux of Statistic across the country.

Adeniran who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said this at the Bi-annual meeting of the National Consultative Committee of Statistics (NCCS) in Asaba.

Adeniran said, ”we continue to call for the passage and establishment of state independent bureaus of statistics across the country, particularly for states that were yet to pass the statistics law.

Statistican-General said that the passage of states statistics law and the

establishment of the agency with its own budget line in each state was the foundation upon which available statistical system could be developed.

Adeniran called on states which were yet to pass their laws or established their bureaus to kindly do so in the interest of public development.

The statistician-general, while welcoming the committee to the meeting, said, ”as we gather again at this NCC S, Nigeria’s highest  coordinating body of statistics, I feel a profound sense of pride and responsibility.

”I feel a sense of pride in the strides we have made and continue to make in achieving your mandate and in the manner in which we are achieving it, with quality and innovation.

”Also, I feel a  sense of responsibility recognising the huge task that remains ahead of us as a system, to get to the place where we need to be and to carry all the relevant stakeholders along on the journey.

”As the largest statistical system on the continent of Africa, the demands on us to deliver both internally and externally on the different aspects of work that we have has never been this huge,” he said.

According o him, we as a statistical system must begin to appreciate this responsibility, understand what is demanded of us, and do whatever it takes to meet up.

”The consciousness of the responsibility ahead of us is what has informed the choice of the theme for this session, “Enhancing Data Integration and Interoperability within the Nigerian Statistical System.

”Given the complex developmental challenges that our statistical products are expected to address, single-data sources and indicators are no longer sufficient to satisfy the need.

”We must adopt ways to integrate databases and data system for seamless data flow, and we must equally enhance our ability to merge multiple datasets to generate insights that inform policies to address our developmental challenges and exploit growth opportunities around us.

”Given the theme of this session, the importance of gathering under the umbrella of the NCCS has never been more pronounced than it is today.

”This platform of NCCS provides a mechanism for better coordination of the statistical system as enshrined in the Statistics Act 2007.

” This platform also serves as a forum for sharing ideas experiences, and knowledge.

”So, we have no other choice than to rededicate ourselves and renew our commitment to the actualiation of the objectives and goals of this body, so that our gatherings will not be in vain.

”Our discussions here and the decisions we make during these meetings must be taken seriously and followed through with a sense of obligation.

The Statistican-General assured the gathering that NBS would continue to play its fatherly role as the coordinator of the system to support all members to live up to their mandate of producing timely and reliable information for all our users.

Adeniran commended the Delta state government for hosting the meeting for the second time.

Earlier, the State Commissioner for Economic Planning, Mr Sonny Ekedayen, urged members of the National Consultative Committee on Statistics  to come up with measres revolutionising the way data was being gathered, synthesised and accessed in the country.

The Commissioner noted the importance of accurate data in planning and commended the committee

“”Today, we gather to share knowledge, expertise, and experiences that will help to revolutionise the way we gather, synthesise, share and access data.

“The effect of which can be profound on the quality, integrity, efficiency, timeliness and our ability to access data realtime,” he said.

He urged the gathering to come up with recommendations on the way forward to ensure a more efficient data gathering and management system.

The commissioner said that the state was mindful of the role of accurate data/ statistics in decision making.

BRANDECONOMY reports that the meeting attracted participants from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) .