The National Population Commission, NPC says it welcomed the postponement of the population and housing census by the Buhari administration because it would afford the Tinubu administration the opportunity to have input into the census process.
The Federal Commissioner, NPC Enugu state, Mr. Ejike Eze made this known in Enugu on Thursday while addressing media executives on the reason for the postponement of the 2023 population and housing census.
According to Eze, the postponement has also given the commission the opportunity to further perfect its processes and systems for the conduct of the first-ever digital census in Nigeria.
“The objective of this breakfast meeting is to update the media executives on the status of preparations for the 2023 Census and the next steps forward, in light of the postponement of the census.
“As you are aware, the Commission has carried out all the preparatory activities towards the census such as the Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD), the conduct of pretests and trial census, recruitment and training of census field staff, procurement and configuration of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), the establishment of ICT infrastructure across the country and logistics support and advocacy and publicity activities”. Eze said.
Mr. Eze also said that conscious of the enormous human and material resources that have been expended in the implementation of these preparatory activities, the most important task before the commission is to sustain and reinforce the relevance of these activities to the successful conduct of the 2023 Census.
“This will ensure that the nation does not have to start afresh, with the conduct of the census thereby saving costs.
“The processes and systems put in place for the census are therefore being currently reviewed to determine what needs to be done to ensure that the preparations do not become obsolete for the census. The focus of the commission is to ensure that all the resources expended so far are safeguarded and that the nation does not need to start all over when the census is going to be conducted.
“For us at NPC, this is not a difficult task. In coming up with the plan for the 2023 Census, we were not only looking at the immediate needs of delivering the next census but concerned more with laying a solid foundation for future censuses. This mindset informed the scope and quality of arrangements put in place.
“For example, the EAD, which involved the division of the country into small land areas, was meticulously undertaken in such a way that only an update will be required for future censuses. Using satellite imageries, the Enumeration Areas (EAS) were all geo-referenced with the coordinates of all the buildings established. The products of the EAD are currently being used by other government agencies”, Eze stated
However, Mr. Eze uses the opportunity to refresh the minds of the people on the importance of the census exercise.
“The importance of the population and housing census in national development cannot be overemphasized. Section 213 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended made express provision for the conduct of the census and vested the powers to conduct census, civil registration and demographic surveys on the NPC.
“The United Nations recommends that every country should hold population and housing census, at least, once every ten years
“Regrettably, the last census exercise in Nigeria was held 17 years ago, precisely in 2006 under the administration of the then President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. Until the latest efforts, started by the immediate past administration, attempts by successive administrations to hold census proved unsuccessful.
“The non-conduct of the census in Nigeria has hindered planning for socio-economic development in Nigeria. The country has been planning with obsolete data and projections based on inaccurate estimates. This anomaly is what the forthcoming National Population and Housing Census intends to correct.
“For instance, reliable census data will immeasurably assist President, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, in solving the socio-economic
problems arising from the removal of subsidies.
“The government is talking about palliatives to cushion the effects of the subsidy on the people. Credible census data will guide the Federal Government in the planning of the palliative measures, Eze noted.
Meanwhile, the information generated from the census is a very useful tool for preparing national and state budgets. The use of accurate data in budgeting minimizes the guesswork and ensures the appropriate allocation of resources. Data generated from census help in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes of government at different levels.
The Commission had commenced training certain categories of personnel before the announcement of the postponement. This training includes the facilitators at national, zonal, and state levels, Data Quality Managers, Training Centre Managers, and Monitoring and Evaluation Officers. The next categories of personnel to be trained are the Supervisors and Enumerators.
“The Commission has equally acquired Personal Digital Assistants for the 2073 Census. About 500,000 of these devices have been delivered to the 36 state offices and the FCT and configured for the exercise. An adequate arrangement is being made for the storage and security of the equipment to prevent damages and theft in readiness for the census.
The Commission had carried out massive advocacy and publicity for the 2023 National Population and Housing Census at national and state levels.
Dominica Nwabufo
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