A bill to create a Federal Data Bank for Nigeria has passed the first reading in the Senate on Wednesday. The bill, sponsored by Senator Jimoh Ibrahim (APC Ondo South), aims to establish a data bank that would cover every sector of the economy and provide data for development for both the public and private sectors.
Senator Ibrahim told journalists that data is critical to economic planning and development, and that a data bank would enable in-depth insights into customer behaviour, the state of internal processes, and external risks. He said that the data bank would offer variety, volume, velocity, and value for data users.
He also said that the Federal Data Bank would be self-sustainable, as it could receive and sell data, and that it would receive support from the international community and institutions like the World Bank and IMF. He added that all levels of government, from the federal to the local, could benefit from accessing the data bank.
