By Tony Obiechina, Abuja 

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation have announced a partnership to develop the Aig-Imoukhuede Public Sector Performance Index which seeks to measure the impact of the public sector on the overall productivity and economic growth of the Nigerian economy and on the wellbeing of Nigerian citizens.

 
A Memorandum of Understanding to that effect was signed on Thursday in Abuja between the NBS and the Foundation for the development of the Aig-Imoukhuede Public Sector Performance Index.   
According to a statement jointly issued by NBS Director of Communications,  Mr Joel Sunday Ichedi and the Foundation’s Head of Communications, Patience Salami said the Index will measure the impact that public sector activities have on the overall productivity and economic growth of the Nigerian economy and on the wellbeing of its citizens. 
The Index is being developed by the Foundation in partnership with the Governance and Institutions Policy Commission (GIPC) of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), as part of its work to facilitate the transformation of the Nigerian public sector. Present at the signing ceremony, which held at the Statistics House, Abuja, were the Statistician-General of the Federation, Dr. Simon Harry, the Chairman and Executive Vice Chair of the Foundation, Mr. Aigboje and Mrs Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede, as well as senior officials and staff of both organisations. 
The signing of the agreement marks the long-term commitment of both organisations to work collaboratively to develop the Index and ensure its success.  
Dr Simon Harry, the Statistician-General, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in his remarks said, “This Index aligns with the goal of the Bureau to provide credible statistics on the public sector that will promote evidence-based decision making. The National Bureau of Statistics under my leadership commits to lending its full support to this laudable initiative by ensuring that it is designed, developed and delivered to global standards, comparable to any other world class index”. 
Continuing, he said, “This Index could not have come at a better time, and I look forward to working with the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation in its quest to transform the performance of the Nigerian public sector.”
Mrs. Ofovwe Aig-Imoukhuede, Executive Vice-Chair of the Foundation said, “Despite its huge potential, Nigeria performs poorly across all indicators of the Human Development Index. There is a direct correlation between better performing countries and the efficiency of their public sector and so our goal at the Foundation is to foster improvement in the Nigerian public sector in order to achieve better outcomes for Nigerian citizens. 
“This Index will comprehensively review and provide feedback on the performance of public institutions with a view to identifying success factors for improved public sector performance and providing the government with an objective view of areas of progress and areas for performance improvement. It will also provide citizens with information about public sector performance in an accessible manner and encourage informed national debate.”
The Chairman of the Foundation, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede stated, “I am confident that this partnership between the Foundation and NBS will facilitate the creation of an Index that has legitimacy and wide acceptance to a diverse range of stakeholders nationally and globally.  This Index is just one of the numerous initiatives we are currently undertaking at the Foundation, to achieve our vision of closing the gap between Africa and the rest of the world.”
The National Bureau of Statistics is the apex statistical agency statutorily responsible for the coordination of the operations of the National Statistical System in the production of official statistics for all the three tiers of Government including all the Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), State Statistical Agencies (SSAs) and Local Government Councils (LGCs). 
The partnership and collaboration between both organisations will facilitate the exchange of ideas, expertise, and tools in developing the ground-breaking Index, the first of its kind on the African continent.
The Index Project Manager added “What you cannot measure, you cannot improve. This Index is being designed to provide a credible, reliable, and robust tool that can lead to a better performing public sector. We are therefore very excited to witness the signing this Memorandum of Understanding today”.