Cross River Unveils 5-Year Statistics Road Map For Quality Planning

Cross River State government has strengthened data-driven governance with a new statistics strategy.

On Monday, the state opened a two-day Validation Workshop on the Draft State Strategy for the Development of Statistics (SSDS) 2026-2030 at Adsuit Hotel, Calabar.

The event attracted government officials, development partners, academics, civil society groups, and technical experts to review and refine the roadmap aimed at modernising the state’s statistical system.

Declaring the workshop open, the vice chairman and chief executive officer of the Cross River State Planning Commission, Pastor Bong Duke, said the strategy was “both timely and strategic” for the state’s development agenda.

“Across the world today, governments are increasingly judged by not only the promises they make, but the results they deliver,” he stated.

“Those results can only be measured through credible statistics, effective monitoring systems, and evidence-based decision-making.

“Strong statistical systems are therefore indispensable to good governance, accountability, prudent resource allocation, and sustainable development.”

Pastor Duke explained that Cross River faces a “rapidly changing environment” with pressures in infrastructure, employment, health, education, and social welfare.

Statistician-General, Mrs. Akedoh Edet, of the Cross River State Bureau of Statistics called the workshop “another significant milestone” in positioning statistics as a tool for governance and planning.

He noted that the previous Statistical Master Plan covered 2013-2017, but “changing realities now require a new and more responsive framework.”

Edet described the draft SSDS 2026-2030 as “not merely a document but a roadmap describing It is as a reform agenda.

“It is a practical framework to guide how Cross River State will produce, coordinate, manage, disseminate, and use data over the next five years.”

Akedoh said, “Validation means ownership. Validation means participation. Validation means credibility,” urging “frank discussions, practical recommendations, technical scrutiny, and constructive contributions.”

Chief Statistician Okey Alobi, outlined the workshop’s goals to include, validating the draft SSDS, strengthening the State Statistical System, promoting stakeholder ownership, and aligning the strategy with state, national and global development priorities.