No Tangible Development Can Be Achieved Without Reliable Data – Dr. Olowo

The Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Rabiu Olowo, has affirmed that no tangible development can be achieved without reliable, accurate and precise data.

The Commissioner stated this on Thursday at the commencement of a two-day Programme tagged “National Sensitisation and Advocacy Tour of Lagos State Data Gathering and Management”, held in Alausa, Ikeja.

According to Dr. Olowo, “The national sensitisation and advocacy programme will help reinforce the crucial role that accurate, precise and properly documented data play in engendering economic and infrastructural development of Lagos State and Nigeria as a whole.”

He explained that in order to help the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) compute the horizontal revenue allocation between States and Local Government Councils, all the relevant stakeholders in the State, including the Ministry of Finance, Office of Accountant General of the State, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Chairmen of Local Government Councils with their Treasurers, relevant Heads of Department and Revenue Officers in the State have been adequately sensitised on the importance of the event.

The Team Leader of RMFAC representing Kwara State, Mr. Suhaibu Yaman Abdullahi told the gathering that the training was designed to enlighten stakeholders on the importance of data gathering, adding that the quality of data presented to RMFAC plays a crucial role in ensuring equitable distribution of federal revenue accrued to the State.

He, however, implored all concerned stakeholders in the data gathering process to ensure that all statistics gathered and collated are accurate and reliable to suit the desired purposes.

Also speaking at the event, the Commissioner representing Osun State RMAFC, Pharmacist Oladele Gboyega, informed the gathering that the responsibility of RMAFC is to allocate the federal government revenue according to each State’s data, hence the need for the sensitisation programme to educate the participants on the importance of accurate data gathering.

He added that the meeting will also ensure that the data gathering strategies provided at the end of the two-day event will help in revenue mobilisation that will assist the State in providing essential services for the citizenry.