Statistician-General Simon Harry dies seven months after appointment

The Statistician-General of the Federation, Simon Harry, is dead.

He reportedly died in an Abuja hospital on Wednesday. His death was confirmed by the Director, Communication and Public Relations Department at the National Bureau of Statistics, Ichedi Joel.

“Yes, it is true. It’s been confirmed that he is dead.”

His death is coming barely seven months after he was appointed into the office.

He was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in August 2021 to replace Yemi Kale as statistician-general of the federation to head the NBS.

The confirmation of his death came about 48 hours after the NBS had debunked rumours of his demise.

He was said to have been indisposed on Saturday, and was immediately given medical attention.

Harry joined the erstwhile Federal Office of Statistics as statistician 11 in 1992 and rose to the position of director of statistics in 2019.

Before his appointment as the statistician-general of the federation, he was the director of corporate planning and technical coordination, department of the NBS — with almost three decades of experience.