The Statistician-General of Sokoto State, Alhaji Aburrahman Abdullahi-Shagari, has urged public and private sector players, community-based organizations and other stakeholders to work with accurate data for state development.
Abdullahi-Shagari made the call during a three-day stakeholders engagement in Sokoto on Thursday for the development of the 2026-2030 strategic plan organized by the State Bureau of Statistics.
He described statistics as “a vital tool for overall economic growth and development”, and for
achieving the 9-point agenda goals set out by Gov. Ahmad Aliyu of Sokoto State.
He said the Sokoto State Government ensured the formulation of functional data-driven policies which aligned with Islamic principles, cultural values, focused on state’s priorities, as well as context.
He added that the engagement was aimed at fine-tuning the implementation of the 5-year plan, scrutinizing individual and group roles, partnerships, opportunities, barriers and communication challenges, among others.
He underscored the importance of traditional rulers and community members involvement in proving proper data to enable policy makers to make informed decisions.
He noted that “the bureau coordinates and manages state’s data, rooting its activities with National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and other stakeholders at different levels to facilitate domestication of national and international policies in alignment with state core values.”
The Statistician General dwelt on Key Performance Indicators, Multidimensional Indicator, surveys, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and other macroeconomic indicators that measure the growth of activities at the national, sub national and states levels.
In his presentation, Prof. Salihu Mikailu, the Lead Consultant and former Vice Chancellor of Usmanu Danfodio University Sokoto (UDUS), dwelt on the role of organizations and community groups on supporting right statistical systems.
Mikailu called for improved partnerships among stakeholders to develop and strengthen the statistical system with trust data collection processes.
He described the remodeled State Bureau of Statistics as right direction and a robust performance with active players and government political will.
In their separate contributions, the District Head of Gagi, Alhaji Sani Umar-Jabbi and the Executive Secretary of Sokoto State Zakkar and Endowment Commission, Alhaji Lawal Maidoki, sought stakeholders support on outside government financing of data collection processes and implementation of community-based benefiting policies.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the activity witnessed discussions on financing models, government and community approaches affecting data collection and use, along with challenges.
It was attended by religious and traditional leaders, the media, community-based associations, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other international organizations, among others. (NAN)
