CBN strengthens fiscal data architecture

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has intensified efforts to strengthen the country’s economic data architecture through the digitalisation of the Sub-National Fiscal Survey across the 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and 774 local government areas nationwide.

The initiative, implemented through the CBN’s Statistics Department, is aimed at replacing the largely manual reporting process with a digital system to improve the timeliness, accuracy, consistency and precision of fiscal data for monetary, fiscal and broader economic policy decisions.

Speaking at a recent Sub-National Fiscal Statistics Stakeholders’ Engagement in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the Director of the Statistics Department, Dr Usman Moses Okpanachi, said the initiative was designed to strengthen the information chain linking fiscal transactions in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and local governments to evidence-based policymaking.

According to a statement by the apex bank, Okpanachi said reliable fiscal statistics were critical to sound economic management, as they enabled governments to assess revenue performance, expenditure patterns, financing needs and fiscal pressures.

He added that such data provided policymakers with a clearer picture of public-sector activities and their implications for aggregate demand, liquidity, borrowing conditions and inflation.

The director said timely and reliable data had become increasingly important as the CBN strengthened its forward-looking, data-dependent monetary policy framework and moved towards a more explicit inflation-targeting regime.

He noted that the largely manual, twice-yearly Sub-National Fiscal Survey faced several challenges, including delays, logistical difficulties, data validation and processing.

According to him, the digitalisation initiative would address these challenges by standardising data entry, improving validation, simplifying submissions, enabling better monitoring and traceable corrections, and supporting the transition to more frequent and sustainable quarterly submissions.

Okpanachi emphasised that technology would complement, rather than replace, sound record-keeping, proper reconciliation and professional judgement.

He urged state and local governments to ensure timely implementation by prioritising prompt data submission, proper validation and reconciliation, as well as appointing designated focal officers to guarantee institutional continuity.

He further said the initiative’s success would be measured by more complete and consistent returns, faster submissions, improved validation and better fiscal information for decision-making.

The director assured stakeholders of the bank’s continued technical and operational support through its branches and the Statistics Department.

The CBN said the nationwide engagement, which commenced on October 26, 2026, was expected to cover the remaining states by December 4, while the FCT was scheduled for December 9 and 10.

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It said the practical sessions would enable state and local government fiscal officers to use the digital questionnaire, understand validation requirements, and practise submission and correction procedures.

As of November 6, 2026, the bank had covered 16 states and their local governments, with strong government support and attendance reaching 100 per cent in almost all the states visited.

“Following the exercise, trained officers are expected to cascade the knowledge within their institutions and begin submitting returns through the digital platform, while the Statistics Department consolidates implementation outcomes into a national report.

“The initiative, part of the CBN’s broader data architecture and transformation agenda, is expected to strengthen fiscal data for State and Local Government planning, budgeting and policy evaluation, while providing more timely and reliable information for monetary, financial and fiscal policy decisions” the statement noted.