NBS: We have data of all 8,809 wards in Nigeria

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says it has completed the enumeration of all the 8,809 wards across Nigeria.

The Statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of NBS, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, disclosed this during  the 1st Bi-Annual Meeting of the National Consultative Committee on Statistics (NCCS) held in Kano.

Adeniran said the ward enumeration was the first of its kind in the country and was conducted under the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme, coordinated by the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and implemented by the NBS.

The statistician-general said Nigeria’s statistical landscape was evolving rapidly, with growing demand for timely, credible and disaggregated information.

He said the increasing availability of digital, telecommunications, financial and geospatial data was reshaping understanding of the country’s economy and society, stressing that the challenge was to make such data accessible, trusted, integrated and useful for decision-making.

Adeniran said the NBS was working to build a modern statistical system that reflected global trends and users’ needs, adding that the agency had joined initiatives including the Power of Data High Impact Initiative, Make Inclusive Data the Norm Initiative and the Inclusive Data Charter.

He further announced that Nigeria would, for the first time, host the 20th Meeting of the Committee of Directors-General of Statistics Offices in Africa in December.

In his remarks, the Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, described statistics as indispensable tools for sound public policies, effective planning and accountable governance.

Yusuf, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Umar Farouk, said government could not properly identify citizens’ needs, allocate resources or evaluate the impact of policies without credible and timely data.

The governor said reliable statistics were particularly important to Kano, given its large population, expanding urban centres and extensive agricultural communities.

He said accurate data on population, education, healthcare, agriculture, employment, infrastructure, poverty and businesses would enable government to direct resources to areas of greatest need and ensure that development programmes produced measurable results.

Yusuf said his administration placed considerable importance on evidence-based decision-making, stressing that good governance must be guided by evidence and reliable information rather than assumptions or perceptions.

He further said the work of statisticians had never been more important, as he declared the conference open.

The two-day meeting, themed, “Unlocking Data Dividends for National Development: Advancing Administrative Statistics and Data-Driven Governance,” was organised to deliberate on the development and use of statistics for national planning and governance.