https://nextedition.com.ng/2019/05/09/udoma-inaugurates-15-member-nbs-governing-board/

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma has inaugurated the 15-member Governing Board of the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony in Abuja on Thursday, the Minister charged the new Board to work in harmony with the management of the Bureau to achieve its goals, especially considering the important role of the NBS in nation building

A statement by the minister Special Adviser Media & Communication, Akpandem James, said Udoma enumerated the roles and responsibilities of the Governing Boards of Parastatals and Agencies as provided in their respective establishment Acts noting they were quite distinct from the day-to-day administration of parastatals and agencies under the leadership of Chief Executives who double as Accounting Officers.

The Minister advised “that strict adherence to statutory provisions by both parties will enhance harmonious relationship devoid of bickering and other unhealthy occurrences.”

The NBS is one of the three parastatals under the ministry. The other two are the National Institute for Social and Economic Research (NISER) and the Centre for Management Development (CMD). The Governing Boards of the two institutions were inaugurated on March 8, 2018.

Recall that last year, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the constitution of the Boards of some Federal Government Agencies/Parastatals to provide proper governance and oversight structure for them as well as drive general policy formulation for the implementation of their management teams.

While the boards of other parastatals were immediately inaugurated, that of NBS, which required Senate confirmation, was postponed to await that confirmation. The approval was obtained recently according to the statement.

Udoma explained that the NBS was the government agency charged with the responsibility for data generation and dissemination in Nigeria. “The agency facilitates sectoral development in updating, monitoring Nigeria’s socio-economic indicators and advises the government as well as relevant stakeholders including the public and private sectors on our social rankings, etc.