The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar has expressed concerns over the hacking of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) website, calling it an “unpleasant development” that adds to the “bad tidings” of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The hack comes on the heels of the recent data published on the NBS website regarding the Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey (CESPS).
In a statement, Atiku’s Media Office expressed hope that the hack was not an attempt to compromise the integrity of data used for planning, development, and research.
“The hacking of the NBS website underscores the credibility crisis of the current administration,” Atiku said. “Subjecting data and statistics to political considerations is counterproductive and raises concerns about the fidelity of the stats released to the public.”
Atiku also noted the suspicious timing of the hack, coming shortly after the release of damning security statistics. “We may be tempted to assume that every stat released by the Bureau is an outcome of a hack,” he said.
The statement reads:
“The unprecedented claim that the website of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has been hacked is an unpleasant development that adds up to the bad tidings that have characterized the President Bola Tinubu administration.
“The development, which is coming on the heels of the recent data published on the website of the @NBS_Nigeria on Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey (CESPS), underscores the credibility crisis of the current administration.
“These are strange times in Nigeria, and it is hoped that the situation at hand is not an underhand attempt to pigeonhole the integrity of data majorly used for planning and development and research purposes.
“Subjecting data and statistics such as those harvested, analysed, and released by the NBS to sexing up or political considerations is counterproductive.
“That is why the claim that the website of the National Bureau of Statistics was hacked into, the very first time in its history, should be of concern to the fidelity of the stats it releases to the public.
“Moreover, the coincidence of this so-called hack coming only shortly after the release of damning stats on security is suspicious.
“We may be tempted to assume that every stats released by the Bureau is an outcome of a hack.”
