The Federal Government of Nigeria has said it would utilize Geo-referenced data to develop innovative tools to support the delivery of interventions to Nigerians.
This would be done through Ward-Based project delivery system wherein Ministries, Departments and Agencies would ensure beneficiaries of interventions are residents of various local communities.
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, made this known recently, while declaring open the High- level Stakeholders meeting on the Nigeria National Geospatial Data Infrastructure, in Abuja.
The aim of the meeting was to discuss modalities for financing and securing Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval for the draft of National Geoinformation Policy and consequently the establishment of Nigeria’s spatial data infrastructure.
Speaking on the potentials of Geospatial Data and technology application in decision making, the Minister who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Emeka Vitalis Obi mni, recalled that after the upsurge in polio cases in 2011, Geospatial Data provided updated settlement maps, populations data and health ward boundaries which allowed vaccinators to access every settlement. As a result, polio cases dropped to zero by 2015.
That example, according to the Minister, demonstrated the potential of evidence -based data for decision making and the power of Geospatial Data in providing solutions to Development problems.
In view of that success, Bagudu said that the Ministry was in conversation with most Agencies on the establishment of an Agriculture Ward- Based project Delivery System.
He also stressed that the meeting was to discuss the foundation that would ensure spatial data was available for ward-based initiatives as the establishment of Nigeria’s spatial data infrastructure and Nigeria’s National Geoinformation Policy would support the innovative initiative of the Ward-based project planning and delivery system and other policy decisions.
He commended Agencies and partners in the Ecosystem for the synergy and their ability to agree on the production of the different Geospatial dataset and subsequently the review of the National Geoinformation Policy and the draft National Geospatial Data Infrastructure (NDGI) bill.
The Minister urged participants at the meeting, to engage with the mindset of contributing and cooperating towards attaining National Development.
In a presentation, titled: Strengthening Partnership among the NDGI Stakeholders” the Surveyor General of the Federation, Surveyor, Abdulganiyu Adebomehin, advised all stakeholders to go under the same platform and be willing to share every data in their custody for the benefit of Nigerians. He maintained that data harvested by various agencies must be taken to the clearing house for validation.
Paper presentations at the meeting were on: Overview of Nigeria’s Geospatial Value Pipeline Landscape Report/Fundamental Datasets and Mandated Producers; Overview of the NDGI/Geoinformation Policy and Progress so far, amongst others.
After extensive deliberations, resolutions reached at the meeting were: Representatives of MDAs to properly brief their principals of the outcome of the meeting to facilitate the passage of the Geoinformation policy and the National Geospatial Data Infrastructure (NGDI) bill;
Each agency to retain ownership of its data, while metadata should be shared for broader access;
The Federal Government should support the Funding of the NGDI;
A strategic roadmap for NGDI implementation, focusing on capacity building, data validation, and funding, should be developed;
A memo to present the policy to the Federal Executive Council should be jointly presented by the Ministries of Science, Innovation and Technology and Budget and Economic Planning;
The approved FEC NGDI policy should be sponsored as an executive bill;
The Director-General of NASRDA and the Surveyor General of the Federation should coordinate the drafting of the Federal Executive Council Memo.
Participants at the meeting were drawn from line MDAs.
Julie Osagie-Jacobs
D/Press and Public Relations,
BEP
10/9/24