Operationalizing the data banking concept within a National Statistical and Information System: Problems and Propsects in Nigeria

The main issue raised in this paper is the role of Data Banks in the process of generating information for public administration in a country under a Federal System of Government. The conceptual underpinning is based on a data-information-decision construct and, an example is drawn from an effort to operationalize the concept within the National statistical and Information System of Nigeria, a country with a relatively large public sector. The main inference from the paper is that although the availability of data from statistical agencies are necessary ingredients for national development programming, the establishment of data banks as decision support tools, is sinc qua non for success in this direction. This is particularly true of developing countries.