The National Bureau of Statistics has proposed a budget of N35 million for “Capacity Building on Cybersecurity and Data Centre Management” as part of its 2025 financial plan.
This move follows a cyberattack that targeted the agency’s website on December 18, 2024, compromising its digital infrastructure.
The incident, disclosed on the bureau’s official X account, prompted a warning advising the public to disregard any information on the platform until the issue is resolved.
The breach has intensified concerns about the resilience of the bureau’s digital systems, especially given its critical role in providing statistical data essential for national policymaking and governance.
The NBS’s 2025 budget also includes allocations for projects designed to modernize its operations and improve service delivery.
Notable proposals include N55 million for the National Agricultural Sample Survey, N50 million for tracking the implementation of the 8-Point Agenda, N60 million for the National Integrated Survey of Establishment, and N50 million for System of Administrative Statistics Reports.
The bureau also plans to spend N45 million on Reform and Service Delivery Capacity Building, N35 million for Sustainable Development Goals Tracking, and N30 million to revise the Statistics Act.
Furthermore, N25 million each is earmarked for Financial Management Capacity Building and Sustainable Procurement Methods, while N10 million will go toward developing skills in creating infographics and statistical reports.
Among the most significant allocations is N500 million for the Labour Force Survey, alongside N60 million for the Compilation of Quarterly GDP by Production, Expenditure, and Income.
The Consumer Price Index, a key inflation metric, has been allocated N80 million, highlighting its importance in economic analysis.
Other allocations include N36 million for the Quarterly Production of Foreign Trade in Goods and Trade Intensity Index, N40 million for the Producer Price Index, and N15 million for the Waste Generated Statistics Report in Nigeria.
The Annual Abstract of Statistics will receive N15 million, while N9 million is designated for producing the Demographic Statistics Bulletin.
Additionally, N80 million has been reserved for the National Consultative Committee on Statistics, a platform fostering collaboration among national statistical stakeholders.
Personnel costs dominate the bureau’s proposed expenditure, amounting to N6.65 billion of the N9.85 billion total budget.
The cyberattack, which disrupted the NBS website for about a week, is expected to delay critical reports, underscoring the urgency of addressing cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
This incident also reflects broader cybersecurity challenges facing Nigeria. A report by Check Point Software Technologies on the 2024 African Perspectives on Cybersecurity revealed that Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, endures an average of 3,759 cyberattacks per week.
Public institutions alone face 1,791 attacks weekly, with ransomware and botnet activities being the predominant threats.
As Nigeria continues to embrace digitalization, these cybersecurity threats highlight the need for robust digital infrastructure, particularly within government agencies responsible for managing economic and developmental data.
