Nigerian govt not applying statistics in national planning, resource allocations – Nwabueze

The government’s attitude, according to her, negatively affects national planning, the economy, allocation of scarce resources and also affects the electoral system.

Nwabueze, who stated this while delivering the 58th Inaugural Lecture of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State on Wednesday, said that inaccurate application of statistics had negatively affected the Nigerian electoral system and also encouraged electoral malpractices in many instances.

She lamented that statistics, which are important to every field and household, are not receiving deserved attention from the government unlike what obtains in the Western World.

“What is different between our government and the Western government is that Western government, they make use of data, they make use of statistics.

“If our government will listen to us and make use of statistics, then we will be better off,” she stated.

The 58th Inaugural Lecturer, who called for a prudent electoral system in the country, said that anomaly of number of cast votes being higher than registered voters in Nigeria during elections can be obliterated with the right use of statistics.

“My colleagues in the University of Ibadan carried out a research on the last election in Nigeria and they were able to bring out the discrepancy between the registered voters and what they observed in the field, and it was loud,” she added.

She faulted the Federal government’s much reliance on data released by the National Bureau for Statistics, saying that it had not produced the much desired results.

Nwabueze, who is also a Professor of Econometrics, recalled how Army officers whisked her to safety after some thugs attempted to set her office ablaze during a previous election because she refused to allow manipulated result figures to be included, when she worked as a Returning Officer in the Northern part of Abia State.

Busoye Tolulope Matthew and Busoye Opegbemi Matthias, twin brothers, have made waves in the academic community by graduating with first-class degrees from the University of Ibadan.

The duo emerged as the joint best-graduating students from the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, each achieving an impressive CGPA of 3.94/4.00. They were also recognized as the overall best students from the Faculty of Technology.

The twins shared photos of their numerous awards and a breakdown of their academic performance, showcasing their consistent excellence from their 100 level to final year. The data speaks for itself: “Faculty of Technology, University of Ibadan Best Graduating Students, BGS Busoye (Twins) Graduating Students Speaker President Matthias Matthew 100L – 3.84 / 3.89 200L – 3.92 / 3.94 300L – 3.95 / 3.93 400L – 3.94 / 3.93 500L – 3.94 / 3.94”

Photo source: Instagram

The Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, has officially launched the School-Based Management Committee – School Improvement Programme (SBMC-SIP) and the Teacher Professional Development (TPD) initiative, both implemented by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).

He stated that these transformative programmes, funded through the UBE Intervention Fund, aim to strengthen school governance through community participation and improve teaching standards to enhance learning outcomes. This aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.

Dr. Alausa announced the Federal Government’s support for UBEC’s 2025–2027 targets, which include:

Construction of 7,200 UBE facilities

Provision of 1.68 million school furniture units

Renovation of 195,000 classrooms

Installation of 22,900 boreholes and 28,000 toilets

Perimeter fencing in 14,000 rural schools

These efforts align with the upcoming competence-based curriculum, with Teachers’ Guides in development. He emphasized the importance of teacher upskilling and community engagement, urging State and Local Governments to support and monitor the SBMC-SIP.

Commending UBEC, he called on stakeholders to support the Renewed Hope vision. Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad, Minister of State for Education, reaffirmed the government’s dedication, citing achievements in infrastructure, teacher training, and resource distribution.

Dr. Aisha Garba, UBEC Executive Secretary, highlighted the initiatives’ focus on bridging infrastructure and teacher quality gaps. “We are not merely launching programmes; we are reaffirming a national commitment to every Nigerian child,” she said.

With over ₦2 billion allocated to 1,147 SBMCs, over 15,000 projects will be supported, fostering transparency and sustainable development.