Daily Independent Online.
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Friday, August 13, 2004.
Why FG restructured NPC, FOS, by
Adviser
By Sanya Adejokun,
Senior
Correspondent, Abuja
The Chief Executive Officer of the National Planning
Commission (NPC), Prof. Ode Ojowu has adduced reasons why Nigerians would
continue to grapple with the embarrassment of inadequate data until the
conclusion of the restructuring of the commission and its parastatals. Ojowu
said at the NPC ministerial press briefing in Abuja on Thursday that,
“inadequate manpower particularly the right calibre of professional
staff, remains a major constraint to the work of the commission and its
parastatals.
“For example, only five per cent of the staff of the
Federal Office of Statistics (FOS) are professionally qualified compared to 44
per cent for South Africa. There is a lot of room for retraining of staff and
this would require funds, personnel and equipment,” Ojowu said.
Ojowu who is also the Economic Adviser to the President said
however that in the absence of funds, both UNICEF and European Union (EU) have
committed themselves to equipping the new offices of the NPC and the FOS.
The EU, he said, has offered to furnishing and equipping the
new FOS building with state-of-the-art facilities to the tune of N600 million.
“In view of this, the commission is committed to ensuring that the right
caliber of staff trained to facilitate the effective performance of FOS”.
