State Budget and Regional Planning Minister Clem Agba announced that the federal government plans to include geospatial data allocations in agency budgets.
According to the minister, the federal government has established provisions for the monitoring and evaluation of projects in the country, further indicating that this also applies to geospatial information systems.
Foluke Adebayo, Data Quality Officer at the National Population Commission, emphasized the need for geospatial data. She said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, georeferenced data will help governments identify poor and vulnerable people who benefit from remittance programs under the World Bank-funded National Social Safety Her Net Program.
She further said such data would help identify areas in need of infrastructure development and areas that could be considered security relevant.