Experts in the nation’s data and development sector have called for a more integrated, inclusive, and technology-driven statistical system to improve decision-making and national development.

The experts made the call during a panel session in commemoration of the World Statistics Day organised by the National Bureau of Statistics in Abuja on Monday.

Paul Alaje, the chief economist of SPM, called for the establishment of a national data-sharing platform that would link the public and private sectors as well as federal, state, and local governments.

“We need a national platform  that enables agencies to collect, share, and access data seamlessly,” he said.

Mr Alaje said achieving such a system would require three key actions, which include empowering the NBS beyond producing routine statistics, stressing the need for adequate funding.

He said the second and third actions were to position NBS as the lead coordinating agency for all data activities and  secure  cooperation among government agencies, respectively.

According to him,  those other agencies that are  still collecting data instead of harmonising it are sending wrong signals to those in the private sector that the NBS is just there as one of the agencies.

Mr Alaje noted that an integrated data system could also enhance national security by improving crime tracking and identification.

“With a unified data system, a criminal who commits a crime in one state and relocates elsewhere can be easily identified,” added Mr Alaje. “Data is key to improving not just governance, but also national perception and, sometimes, is even more important than reality.”

He also called for proper funding of the NBS to reduce reliance on development partners.

Godday Ebuh, the president of the Chartered Institute of Statisticians of Nigeria, also stressed the need for a unified data system across the country, saying data must not be fragmented but connected in a single ecosystem.

“Data must be recognised to be in one system,  not fragmented, but whole. Nigeria needs a cohesive national data framework that connects all producers and users of statistics,” stated Mr Ebuh.

Bala Yunusa, the senior technical adviser of OSSAP- SDGs , said strengthening the institutional capacity of the NBS was crucial to ensuring quality data production.

“We must strengthen the capacity and organisational competence of the NBS so that it can fully deliver on its core mandate,” he said.

Moses Okpanache, the director of statistics at the Central Bank of Nigeria, underscored the need to empower state statistical agencies, which he described as being closest to where most data originates.

“Those institutions must be strengthened and enabled to complement the work of the NBS at the centre,” he said.

Abubakar Yahaya, from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, said inclusiveness and data literacy were essential in ensuring that marginalised groups were not left out of the national data conversation.

“Without inclusiveness, marginalised communities will remain mere data points. We must make sure they are part of the process, not just the statistics,” he said.

The session ended with a collective call for collaboration among data producers, users, and policy-makers to strengthen Nigeria’s statistical ecosystem, including strengthening the NBS, inclusivity, and data literacy.

(NAN)