The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has said for the promotion of good governance in country. statistical data analysis and it’s scientific use are necessary and very important, insisting that this would lead to sussessful implementation of government programmes and policies, and effective service delivery.
Aregbesola made this remark on Friday, while receiving officials of the Professional Statistician Society of Nigeria who paid him a courtesy visit at his Abuja Office.
The Minister explained that his knowledge of and use of statistical data tremendously helped him as active player at different levels of administration in life, adding that this as enabled him as a Minister to create three passport centres (Ikoyi-Festac, Alausa, and Amuwo Odofin) in Lagos which helped in the decongestion of exiisting facilities and the reduction of passport racketeering in Nigeria.
He said given this intervention, it is unfortunate that many who do not want to follow laid down rules and procedures, still land themselves in the hands of unsucrupulous people who extort money from them.
He noted that it was because he imbibed statistical data benefits that he was able to pioneer the establishment of the State Bureau of Statistics when he was Governor of Osun as well as appointed the first State Statistician General.
He said: “I find Statistics useful and result- oriented; and I commend it to industrialists, enterpreneurs, politicians, leaders of communities, Local Governments, States and nations.”
The Minister equally observed that “It is at the Federal level that there is substantial interest in statistics in the country”.
Aregbesola promised to work with the Professional Statistician society of Nigeria, despite the short term he has left; and expressed his delight that the National Assembly recently successfully passed a law that will soon transform the organisation to a Chartered Institute; which he believes will augur well for the organisation.
Earlier, leader of the visting team, Professor Waheed Yahya, said their organisation is a body of professional statisticians with responsibility for engaging in statistical research, that will assist policy makers in government, industries and non-governmental organisations in the development of the nation.
He further said they also train and mentor younger ones in the field of statistical research in the country.
Yahya disclosed that the purpose of the visit is to congratulate the Minister on the series of transformation he brought to the Ministry of interior, and further explore possible areas of cooperation as a lover of statistics.
He praised the Minister for applying the idea of statistical data for the decongestion of passport administration through creation of more centres in Nigeria; and for establishing the Osun State Bureau of statistics as well as supporting the first Statiscian General for Osun State to become governor.
