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Lawmakers Move To Grant NBS Financial Autonomy, Plans National Tax Trust Fund 

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The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) may soon gain financial autonomy as lawmakers push for reforms to strengthen the agency’s independence and improve the credibility of national data.

The Chairman, House Committee on National Planning, Rep. Gboyega Isiaka, disclosed this while receiving a delegation from the Liberian House of Representatives on a bilateral exchange visit, in Abuja, Weekend.

Isiaka explained that the committee’s priority was to guarantee adequate funding, transparency, and public confidence in the statistics generated by NBS for Nigeria’s development planning.

He revealed that a key reform under consideration is the establishment of a National Tax Trust Fund, that would allow stakeholders that benefit from NBS data, such as government agencies, development partners, and private sector players, to contribute towards securing sustainable and reliable funding.

The lawmaker added that the new legislation would empower the bureau to collect data directly from private sector entities, a move he said would expand NBS’s coverage and reliability.

He stressed that financial autonomy was necessary if the agency was to deliver timely and dependable statistics without being constrained by budgetary delays.
According to him, the existing NBS Act, which was originally enacted in 1957 and last amended in 2007, has become outdated, leaving loopholes and funding gaps that weaken the bureau’s effectiveness.
The reform bill, which has already passed First Reading at the House of Representatives, seeks to overhaul the framework by which the bureau operates
“The bill aims to enhance NBS independence, especially in funding, moving beyond reliance on government budget allocations,” Isiaka said, noting that the National Strategy for Developmental Statistics 2024–2028 assigns greater responsibilities to the bureau.”
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