From mercy Peter
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) have pledged to deepen collaboration in data sharing and coordination as part of efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s democratic process and national development.
The commitment was made on Tuesday during a high-level meeting between the leadership of the two institutions at the INEC Headquarters in Abuja.
Speaking at the meeting, the Statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of the NBS Mr Semiu Adeyemi Adeniran said: “When we talk of democracy, we cannot start a discussion without giving due recognition to INEC. Over the years you have handled our electoral process with due diligence and in a manner comparable to any democracy in the world,” the NBS boss said, noting that the credibility of Nigeria’s elections rests on INEC’s painstaking planning, logistics, and integrity.
He also commended the Commission’s management, adding that INEC is one of the most transparent institutions in terms of openness to public scrutiny.
The Statistician-General explained that NBS’s mandate goes beyond producing national data. “We coordinate the entire Nigerian Statistical System, the largest in Africa, covering ministries, departments, agencies, state bureaus of statistics, and even tertiary institutions.
Our responsibility is to ensure harmonisation so that government, citizens, and development partners like the IMF, UNICEF, and World Bank can rely on consistent and credible data,” he stated.
Highlighting NBS operations, he disclosed that the Bureau has over 2,000 staff across the country, with permanent offices in all 36 states and six zonal coordination centres.
“We use rigorous methodologies, including geocoded enumeration areas from the National Population Commission and computer-assisted personal interviews with voice verification, to ensure accuracy and integrity of our household and establishment surveys,” he explained.
He stressed that collaboration with INEC is vital to strengthening Nigeria’s data ecosystem. “INEC’s electoral data is critical for planning, policy-making, and evaluation.
Our visit today is to explore how we can warehouse, standardise, and make such vital data available in user-friendly formats for policymakers, private organisations, and development partners,” he said.
INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu welcomed the NBS team and pledged the Commission’s readiness to work closely with the Bureau.
He described reliable statistics as indispensable for electoral management, noting that accurate demographic, geographic, and socioeconomic data underpin the credibility of elections.
The meeting also discussed ongoing NBS initiatives such as the National Integrated System of Household Surveys, the National Data System of Establishments, and administrative data harmonisation across government agencies.
The Statistician-General emphasized that these platforms will help eliminate duplication of surveys, reduce costs, and prevent contradictions in official statistics.
Both agencies agreed to pursue joint technical working groups, data-sharing frameworks, and capacity-building programmes to ensure that electoral and socioeconomic data are reliable, accessible, and useful for national development.
“We look forward to a very engaging, instructive, and productive collaboration with INEC. Together, we can ensure that Nigeria’s democracy and development are driven by accurate, transparent, and credible data,” the NBS boss concluded.
