The Statistician-General of the Federation, Simon Harry, has been confirmed dead eight months after his appointment
The Director, Communication and Public Relations Department, Ichedi Joel, disclosed this on Wednesday, in Abuja, barely 48 hours after the agency debunked rumours of his demise
Joel said, “It is not a rumor anymore, the SG is dead, he died from an illness.”
He was said to have been indisposed on Saturday and was immediately given medical attention.
President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Harry as the Statistician-General of the Federation in August last year.
He joined the 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, he has contributed to several reform initiatives including the reform of the then Federal Office of Statistics which was transformed into the current National Bureau of Statistics.
Harry’s other achievements include contributions to reforming Nigeria’s Statistical System which resulted in the creation and establishment of the state bureau of statistics at the sub-national level.