The National Bureau of Statistic (NBS) has commenced a three-day training for 50 enumerators for the conduct of National Business Sample Census (NBSC) in Nasarawa State.
Mr Tanze Siki, Nasarawa State Officer, NBS, disclosed this in Lafia on Tuesday at the venue of the training.
Siki said the purpose of the survey is for the Federal and state governments to have a comprehensive list and framework on businesses and industries domiciled in the state.
He said the conduct of the survey has been overdue given the fact that the last survey conducted was about 23 years ago.
Siki said this has brought the need to conduct a fresh survey to generate current data on businesses in the state.
The NBS officer appealed to participants to take the training seriously and listen attentively, so as to understand how the NBSC survey is to be carried out in areas they will be posted across the state.
In his address, Alhaji Haruna Ogbole, Nasarawa State Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Planning, expressed delight with the training and subsequent census, saying that it is overdue.
Ogbole said the conduct of the census will help to increase the quantum and quality of statistics required for policy formulation, planning, monitoring, and evaluation of government programmes and projects.
“This is critical, especially at this time that Nigeria is on the process of designing a medium-term development plan tagged, “Nigeria Agenda 2050”.
“In essence, the prospects of achieving the present administration’s reform agenda and other development programmes such as the Sustainable Development Goals and Africa Agenda 2063 can only be realised through the use of time-bound and accurate data,” he said.
The commissioner explained that the present administration of Gov. Abdullahi Sule places high premium on statistical information as an ingredient for effective planning and implementation of government policies and programmes.
“As you are all aware, government will want to have at her fingertips the status of poverty in Nigeria.
“In the same vein, to address the poverty situation in the country, there must be reliable and timely indicators on major sectors of the economy such as agriculture, education, manufacturing, mines and power, health, transport, to mention a few,” he said.
Ogbole said that the state government established the State Statistical Agency (SSA) in order to have timely indicators to make informed decisions and cope with current challenges.
He added that in order to ensure the sustainability of its arrangement, there is an enabling law empowering the state bureau of statistics to discharge its responsibility creditably.
The commissioner congratulated the NBS for the giant strides taken to ensure sustained development.
Mr Auwal Oti, a participant, said he is taking the training for the survey seriously, because it is a survey aimed at enabling policy formulation and implementation.
“Enumerators will be deployed to the 13 local government areas of Nasarawa State to capture data on businesses and the structure of business in the state,” Oti said.
