The Statistician-General of the Federation/Chief Executive Officer of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, has called on stakeholders in the Nigerian statistical system to support the current efforts of the Bureau to finalize the Draft National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) 2024 – 2028 by making useful inputs into the draft document for final adoption.
Adeniran, who made the appeal in his keynote address delivered on Wednesday at the Validation Workshop for the NSDS held at Chelsea Hotel, Abuja described the draft document as the result of extensive consultation with all stakeholders over the past few months.
According to him, the NSDS is a crucial document that outlines the strategic direction for the development of statistics in Nigeria over the next five years and is designed to serve as a guide for the development of statistical programmes and activities in the country both at the national and sub-national levels.
Similarly, the Statistician-General said that the NSDS also aims to enhance the production, dissemination, and use of high-quality statistics to support evidence-based decision-making in all sectors of the economy.
He pointed out that as the participants at the event would have carefully noted, the development of the latest round of the NSDS was distinctly different from all the previous rounds as the agency, in planning for the development of the round, carefully considered and ensured that the process was inclusive, constructive, and ambitious yet realistic, considering the evolution of the data ecosystem, and our vision of being the foremost statistical system in Africa.
Describing the validation workshop as a significant milestone in the development process of the NSDS as it provided an important opportunity for stakeholders to review and provide feedback on the draft NSDS document.
On his appeal to the stakeholders for their inputs to the draft document, Adeniran maintained that their valuable inputs and comments will be carefully considered and incorporated into the final version of the NSDS and by so doing, assist the Bureau in developing a document that is reflective of all stakeholders’ views, more robust and inclusive.
He expatiated: “Unlike the other previous strategy documents, we intend to follow through with the implementation of this strategy document. There is a monitoring and evaluation mechanism embedded in the new strategy plan which we intend to operationalize during the implementation period. This is to ensure that we do not just produce a document and leave it on the shelf but one that is practical and can drive the development of statistics in Nigeria over the next five years.
“In line with the current global development agenda, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the NSDS 2024-2028 is poised to guide the statistical system to generate data that adequately monitors and tracks progress towards the realization of these development agendas. Therefore, it will play a key role in ensuring that Nigeria can produce and use high-quality statistics to monitor progress towards achieving these goals.
“I want to emphasize that your participation in this validation workshop is crucial. Your active involvement will help us finalize this strategic document that will guide the development of statistics in Nigeria for the next five years and beyond”, the NBS’ boss added.
He concluded by thanking all the stakeholders who had contributed to the development of this NSDS draft document, particularly the Minister of Budget and Economic Development, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, National Assembly Committees, international development partners for their continued support for the NBS in its sustained drive to enhance the nation’s statistical system.
