Buhari Appoints Harry New Statistician General As Kale’s Tenure Ends

President Buhari has approved the appointment of Dr. Simon Harry as Statistician-General of the Federation to head the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Harry is to succeed the out-going Statistician-General, Dr. Yemi Kale, whose second term tenure of five years expired on 16th August, 2021.

Currently, Harry is the Director, Corporate Planning and Technical Coordination Department of NBS with almost three decades of statistical experience.

He joined the erstwhile Federal Office of Statistics as Statistician 11 in 1992 and rose to the position of a substantive Director of Statistics in 2019.

In the course of his civil service career, Harry has contributed to several reform initiatives including the reform of the then Federal Office of Statistics which transformed to the current National Bureau of Statistics.

He was also involved in the reform of the Nigerian Statistical System which resulted to the creation and establishment of State Bureaus of Statistics at the sub-national level.

Kale assumed office in 2011, and was reappointed in 2016 making him the first chief executive in the agency’s history to serve two terms as statistician general.

Under the tenure of Kale, the Gross Domestic Product of Nigeria was recalculated in 2014, and following the recalculation, declared the largest GDP in Africa

At the National Bureau of the Statistics, he has been applauded by both Nigerian and foreign observers for his reforms in the data process which many believe has restored sanity to the data production process in Nigeria.

Kale is commended for introducing methodology updates, using modern technology such as Computer Assisted Personal Interview Devices to gather data and improving platforms for data dissemination including a data portal, upgraded website and App and the use of infographics to make data easily understandable by users.

Under him, timeliness of data, data quantity and quality has been greatly enhanced and data credibility improved significantly.

He is highly regarded for his fierce refusal to tamper with data or rejection of the politicization of data which has gained him recognition from both pro and anti-governments stakeholders as well as the international community.

In August 2016 he declared that Nigeria’s economy had entered into a recession, the first time in 25 years.

Kale was awarded the National Productivity Order of Merit for outstanding performance, professionalism and diligence in February 2017 by Buhari.