Simon Harry, Nigeria’s Statistician-General is dead

Simon Harry, Nigeria’s Statistician General of the Federation has died.

Rumors of his death shook Abuja Wednesday morning, though details were still sketchy as at press time.

When contacted, NBS spokesperson Ichedi Joel confirmed the news.

“Yes,” he answered when asked if Simon was really dead.

“As at the time I left office last night, he was still alive, but let me get to the office first,” he told BusinessDay.

BusinessDay, just last weekend carried a story in which NBS authorities debunked Harry’s rumored death.

Statistician General of the Federation not dead – NBS

In a a statement, Ichedi had noted that the online publication which reported his death was wrong and that the Statistician General was slightly indisposed on Saturday and following medication, but was recuperating.

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It was learnt that he died in an Abuja hospital, not mentioned and has been on life support,” an NBS staff who will not like to be mentioned told BusinessDay.

‘It’s a huge loss for us, because of the restructuring he has carried out in the short time of assumption of office,” he noted.

On August 26, 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Simon B. Harry as the new Statistician-General of the Federation to head the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Harry succeeded Yemi Kale, whose second term tenure of five years expired on August 16, 2021.

Until his appointment Harry was the Director, Corporate Planning and Technical Coordination Department of NBS with almost three decades of statistical experience.

He joined the erstwhile Federal Office of Statistics as Statistician 11 in 1992 and rose to the position of a substantive Director of Statistics in 2019.

In the course of his civil service career, Harry has contributed to several reform initiatives including the reform of the then Federal Office of Statistics which transformed to the current National Bureau of Statistics, the reform of the Nigerian Statistical System which resulted to the creation and establishment of State Bureaus of Statistics at the sub-national level.

During his very short stay in office, Harry built on the successes of his predecessor, Yemi Kale and carried out some remarkable transformation.

Onyinye Nwachukwu

Onyinye Nwachukwu is the Abuja Bureau Chief of BusinessDay, overseeing coverage across Abuja and Northern Nigeria. With more than two decades of experience in economic and financial journalism, she reports on business, policy, and market trends, linking local developments to the global economy. A fellow of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and recipient of the P. Vishwanathan Memorial Award for Excellence in Financial Journalism, she is known for her insightful storytelling and interviews with senior policymakers, diplomats, and business leaders. Well traveled and globally minded, Onyinye brings depth and international perspective to her reporting.