Simon B. Harry

Harry started his elementary education at L.E.A. Primary School, Tudai, in 1974 and had his first School Leaving Certificate in 1980. He proceeded to Amo Community Secondary School, Katako – Jengre from 1980 – 1985 and School of Preliminary Studies, Keffi (1985 – 1987) where he had his IJMB with which he secured admission into the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, and had a B.Sc. degree in economics with a second-class upper division (2.1) in 1990. After his mandatory N.Y.S.C., Dr. Harry secured admission into the Premier University of Ibadan for a postgraduate diploma degree in statistics (PGDS). He went to the University of Abuja for his master's and doctorate degrees in economics.

Harry joined the Federal Civil Service as a statistician in 1992 in the then Federal Office of Statistics (FOS) and rose to the position of a substantive director of Statistics in 2019. In his early years as a statistician, Dr. Harry served as the officer in charge of Work Programming and Budgeting, Monitoring and Evaluation, Development of Statistical Strategies and Frameworks, establishment of Statistical Branches in MDAs, Survey Design and Methodology, Building Systems for Data Management, Statistical Standards and Coordination, among others.

In the course of his civil service career, Dr. Harry has contributed to several Reform Initiatives including the reform of the erstwhile Federal Office of Statistics which transformed to the current National Bureau of Statistics. He led the process of realigning the Nigerian Statistical System with the United Nations' Agenda 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He has also served on several Presidential Committees including the Committees on the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS), State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (SEEDS) Benchmarking and The Nigerian Vision 20:2020 Economic Transformation Blueprint.

As the director in charge of Corporate Planning and Technical Coordination of NBS, Harry served as the chairman of various committees, including the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Data Validation and Harmonization, Committee on the Design and Implementation of the National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) in Nigeria, Technical Working Group on the Design of the Nigerian Development Plan and Agenda 2050, Production of the National Voluntary Report (NVR) on [3] SDGs, Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF) for SDGs, Strategy for the Harmonization of Statistics in Africa (SHaSA) as well as other technical task teams. He has written widely on issues of statistical development in Nigeria, Statistical Revolution in Africa, The Role of Statistics in Development Planning, Statistics as a Tool for Budgeting, Fiscal and Monetary policy in Nigeria, An Analytical Study on The Impact of Exchange Rate Volatility on Macroeconomic Performance in Nigeria, Intrinsic Role of data in SDGs Implementation, among others.

His vast knowledge in statistics has taken him to many statistical offices in Africa and beyond including Statistics South Africa (SSA); Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBoS); Ghana Statistical Service (GSS); National Institute of Statistics (NIS) Kenya; National Statistical Institute Cape Verde; Rwanda Bureau of Statistics, Ethiopian Bureau of Statistics, Addis Ababa; National Bureau of Statistics, Mali; Senegal Institute of Statistics, National Statistical Institute, Cote d'Ivoire and The Gambia Bureau of Statistics. Others include Office of National Statistics (ONS) of the United Kingdom; Statistics Canada, France Statistical Institute, United States Census Bureau, Institute of Statistics, Germany; to mention but a few. Dr. Harry has also represented Nigeria in programmes organised by Pan African Institutions and global bodies such as the African Development Bank (AfDB) on African Information Highway Initiatives, African Union Commission (AUC) on the Development of Vital Statistics and Civic Registration, African Centre for Statistics on Statistical Development Indicators (SDIs), West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), Ghana on single currency Convergence Criteria, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, France, United Nations Statistics Commission, New York, U.S.A., Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Addis Ababa, International Monetary Fund (IMF) on enhanced General Data Dissemination System (e-GDDS).

He was a Life Member and Fellow of the Nigerian Statistical Association (NSA), the Nigerian Economic Society (NES), African Statistical Association (AFSA) and Fellow of Chartered Institute of Leadership and Governance as well as the Nigerian Statistical Association (NSA). Dr. Harry is a recipient of several Merit Awards both within and outside Nigeria including Award of Excellence by the then Federal Office of Statistics in recognition of his diligence, hard work, productivity, and exemplary manner in 1995; Award in recognition of his meritorious service to the Plateau State Indigenes Development Association (PSIDA), Abuja and Environs, 2017; Award of Excellence by the Association of Northern Nigerian Students (ANNS) as Epitome of diligent Service in recognition of his immense contribution to humanity, Educational Development, Youth Empowerment, Nation Building, Peace Stability, and Societal Transformation in Nigeria, 2017; Award of recognition for excellent service by Plateau Students Union, Plateau State University, Bokkos, 2018 and Merit Award in recognition of his immense contribution towards the upliftment and preservation of culture and media sectors, human dignity and service to God and humanity by Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers Union of Nigeria (RATTAWU), 2018; Youth National Diligence and Integrity Award in recognition of his youth upliftment programmes by National Youth Network of Nigeria, 2020.

Other awards received include Thomas Sankara Leadership Prize for Integrity and Transparency by Youth Partnership for Africa's Development (YOUPAD), 2021; Peace Ambassador in Recognition and Appreciation of Humane Contribution towards Nation Building, Humanitarian Services, Youth Empowerment, Philanthropy, Human Transformation and Educational Development for the Benefit of Humanity and the Country by Sir Ahmadu Bello[4] (Sardauna) Distinguished Leadership Award, 2021; Ambassadorial Award in recognition and Appreciation of immense contributions to the Growth and Development of the Nigerian Society, astute participation in Governance by the Nigerian Patriotic Youth Corruption and Transparency Initiative, 2021; and Award of Excellence for Selfless Service to Humanity/Patronship in recognition and appreciation of immense contribution towards Youth and Women Empowerment, Educational Development for the benefit of humanity and the Country at large by Advocacy for the Empowerment of Nigerian Women and Children Initiative (AENWCI), 2021.

Harry was married to Hannatu Simon Harry and had four children.

Based on these qualities and his vast experiences in statistical operations and economic management,[5] the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR found Dr. Simon Barsha Harry competent, and therefore appointed him as the Statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive of the National Bureau of Statistics on 26 August 2021.[6]