The RSS Nigeria Local Group (RSS-NLG) organised its first International Conference themed ‘Population data for informed national planning and development’ with sub themes: Population studies, census activities, applications of statistics, business, industry & finance, communicating & teaching statistics, data science, environmental & spatial statistics, medical statistics, methods & theory and official statistics & public policy.
The chief host was Professor Kolawole Felix Salako, vice-chancellor, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. The conference was funded by the International Association of Survey Statisticians and the Royal Statistical Society, and organised by the RSS Nigeria local group in collaboration with Department of Statistics, College of Physical Sciences, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria.
Keynote speakers included Professor TA Bamiduro, who talked on Population data for informed National Planning and Development while Professor Kayode Ayinde’s lead paper focused on Statistics, Planning and Development.
The conference was held at the Postgraduate School auditorium at the Federal University of Agriculture, February 5-6 2020. Fifty two papers were accepted and forty six were presented at the conference, and over 350 participants attended from universities, polytechnics, NAFDAC, National Bureau of Statistics, National Population Commission, Central Bank of Nigeria and the Ministry of Finance.
The conference was the first of its kind in Nigeria, and created links for collaboration, which would require yearly conference to showcase their research findings. The organisers recommended making it a yearly event.