Senate Advocates Establishment Of Federal Data Bank

By James Itodo

The Senate has set machinery in motion for establishment of the Federal Data Bank by passing for first reading a bill sponsored to that effect by Senator Jimoh Ibrahim representing Ondo South during plenary in Abuja.

The intendment of the bill as explained by Senator Ibrahim in a chat with journalists is to provide for an Act for
establishment of a federal data bank that would cover every sector of the economy and provide data for development in the public and private sectors.

According to him, data is critical to economic planning and development, making the need for Data Bank very important in any vibrant economy for
in-depth insight into customer behaviour, the state of internal processes and external risks, which will give room for variety, volume, velocity and value.

“There is need for the Federal Government and stakeholders to invest in a data bank that will drive the growth agenda.

“Centralised databases make managing and accessing information for national development easier.

“This is especially important for countries with a large amount of data, or that need to store data for an extended period”, he said .

“When established, the Federal data bank can be self-sustainable since it can receive data and sell data; again, the international community and institutions like the World Bank and IMF will give support for the take-off of the Bank”, he stressed.

Edited By Grace Namiji