The World Bank has recommended that Nigeria invest between $10 million and $15 million annually to upgrade its national statistical system and bring it in line with countries like Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, and Colombia.
According to a statement by Mrs. J. I. Osagie Jacobs, Director of Information and Public Relations at the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, this was disclosed by Mr. Johan Mistiaen, the World Bank Practice Manager for West and Central Africa, during a courtesy visit to the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, on Wednesday.
Mistiaen, who was accompanied by World Bank Country Director Ndiame Diop, made a presentation titled “Next-Level Statistics to Support Nigeria’s Reform and Growth Agenda.”
According to him, Nigeria’s statistical performance lags behind its aspirational peers and requires consistent funding to close the gap. He stated that an annual investment of $10–15 million would significantly enhance the country’s capacity to produce timely, high-quality data for development planning and policy reforms.
The statement read, “Earlier, Mr. Johan Mistiaen, in his presentation on the next-level statistics to support Nigeria’s reform and growth agenda, observed that the country’s statistical performance was not at par with its aspirational peers as Mexico, Colombia, South Africa, and Brazil. He suggested that investing about $10-15 million annually into the country’s statistical system can raise performance to that of its aspirational peers.”
FG reiterates commitment to NBS independence
In response, Senator Bagudu assured that the Federal Government remains committed to the independence of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), pledging continued support for its mandate of producing socio-economic data.
He praised the NBS for maintaining a strong reputation in data collection and analysis, which has been used by international institutions for various economic assessments. Bagudu also thanked the World Bank for its technical and financial support to the agency.
Statistician-General of the Federation and CEO of NBS, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, also noted that the Bureau had received its highest funding in the last decade from the current administration. He stressed that increased investment and deeper engagement with development partners would enable the agency to perform better and meet growing data demands.
The NBS serves as Nigeria’s central statistical agency responsible for collecting, compiling, analysing, and disseminating official data covering economic, social, demographic, and environmental issues.
What you should know
- Nigeria’s headline inflation rate fell from 24.48% in January to 23.18% in February, while core inflation (which excludes food and energy) declined slightly from 22.59% to 23.01%.
- The slowdown in inflation comes amid Nigeria’s CPI rebasing, which has adjusted the reference base year from 2009 to 2024 to better reflect current consumer spending patterns and economic realities.
- The rebasing process was designed to improve inflation measurement by incorporating newer goods and services while realigning weights based on household spending patterns. However, some critics have raised questions about data accuracy.
