NBS, others, seek special trust fund for statistical development

To address the issue of inadequate funding of statistical activities at the state level, the National Consultative Committee on Statistics has proposed the establishment of a statistics trust fund.

The committee, which includes the Statistician-General of the National Bureau of Statistics, Yemi Kale, and the Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, disclosed this in a communiqué issued at the end of its first two-day bi-annual meeting held in Plateau.

The committee stated, among other things, that the lack of a statistics Trust Fund, late release of budget allocations for statistical activities, and a lack of modern technology for statistical analysis at the state level were all factors contributing to the country’s slow statistical development.

The communiqué reads in part, “The meeting observed that non implementation of Pooling of Statisticians which ought to be vigorously pursued by the National Bureau of Statistics was affecting professionalism in MDAs.

“The establishment of ‘Statistics Trust Fund’ was a recipe to the problem of funding for statistics.

“There was inadequate funding for Statistical activities and late release of budgetary allocations for Statistical activities at the State Level.

“The lack of modern technology for data analysis in line with modern trend was prevalent in most MDAs and State Bureaus of Statistics.

“Absence of State Consultative Committee on Statistics and Sector Consultative Committee on Statistics was making coordination of statistical activities difficult in SBSs and MDAs.”

The committee therefore advocated that the challenges outlined be tackled promptly, to accelerate the pace of statistical development in the country.

It stated, “The National Bureau of Statistics should intensify efforts at pooling Statisticians in the Federal and State civil service;

“There should be provision for adequate Office accommodations with all the required equipment and working materials for statistical operations in MDAs.”