The House of Representatives Committee on National Planning and Economic Development has reiterated commitment to accelerating the passage of a bill seeking to grant financial autonomy to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Gboyega Isiaka, stated this in Abuja while hosting a delegation from the Liberian House of Representatives, accompanied by the Statistician-General of Nigeria, Mr. Semiu Adeyemi Adeniran.

Isiaka explained that the committee’s work goes beyond routine oversight of agencies to ensuring that Nigeria’s statistical system commands public confidence, both locally and internationally.

“The Committee on National Planning and Economic Development oversees a number of agencies, including the Bureau of Statistics. Aside from ensuring adequate funding and prudent utilization of resources, we are also deeply interested in making sure that the figures and statistics coming from the Bureau are credible. In today’s world, capital flows to where investors have confidence, and reliable statistics are a major factor in building that confidence,” he said.

He added the Bureau, first established under the 1957 Act and later updated in 2007, still operates under a framework with loopholes, hence the need for reform.

“The current law came almost 50 years after the first one, but there are still gaps. That is why a new Act is being proposed. The bill has already passed First Reading at the House of Representatives. Once we resume, we will take it to Second Reading and then hold a public hearing. That is how far we have gone,” Isiaka said.

According to him, one of the key objectives of the new bill is to strengthen the independence of the NBS, particularly in the area of funding.

Isiaka noted that the law would also formally empower the NBS to serve as the official custodian of Nigeria’s statistics and to broaden its data sources.

“The Bureau has done well in drawing figures from the public sector, but the new legislation will also enable it to source data from the private sector. For that to happen, we need to make sure the agency is properly funded. We also want to guarantee that the numbers produced are aligned with federal government priorities and funding realities,” he said.

He cited the committee’s close engagement with the Bureau during the rebasing of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

On the visit by the Liberian delegation, Isiaka explained that the exchange was designed to strengthen collaboration and mutual learning between both countries.

“The Liberian delegation, made up of members of Parliament and officials of their Bureau of Statistics, came to understudy what is happening in Nigeria in the areas of statistics generation, information reporting, and legislation. It is a powerful delegation, and we have both learned from each other. We identified areas of improvement and gave a commitment to continue this collaboration at the committee level, so that statistical data from both countries can continue to be credible and useful,” he said.

Leader of the Liberian delegation and Chairman of the Ways, Means, and Finance Committee of the Liberian House of Representatives, Hon. Mike Jurry, described the visit as rewarding.

The Statistician-General of the Federation, Mr. Semiu Adeniran, said the NBS made presentations to the Liberian delegation on its operations, innovations, and evolving legal framework.

Adeniran added that the NBS is increasingly focused on accessing emerging data sources, particularly big data held by private organizations, in order to produce more insightful and impactful statistics. (The Nation)