Ahead of the June 2022 trial census, the National Population Commission (NPC) is holding a 5-day nationwide management training for it state directors, comptrollers of local government areas and other top management officers in the states.
Speaking at the ceremony for the North Central second level training in Lafia, the Executive Chairman of the commission, Nasir Isa Kwarra said that, the commission is working towards addressing contentious issues from the 2006 census exercise.
Kwarra is optimistic that NPC would conduct a credible and acceptable population and housing census in the 2023 census exercise, that will provide accurate demographic data for sustainable national planning and development.
According to the NPC chairman, Nigerians would need not to travel to their villages or home states before they could be counted, as the questionnaires and electronic gadgets was such that would capture every detail of an individual without necessarily traveling away from your place of residency.
“Following the conduct of the First Level Management Training which involved Chairman and Honourable Commissioners, and also considering the forth coming trial census in June 2022, it is important to conduct this Second Level Management Training which covers the state directors, the comptrollers of Local Government Areas and other top management officers in the states on their key roles.
“The training is to also let them have a good understanding of the basic concepts on the census questionnaire before the trial census. The training will present a good opportunity for participants to grow their knowledge base and improve their job skills as staff of the NPC.”
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The NPC executive chairman, therefore, hoped that deliberations at the training workshop would also impact positively on all aspects of the preparations and execution of the 2023 Population and Housing Census exercise.
“May I seize this opportunity to assure Nigerians and our development partners that the commission remains committed to conduct a credible and acceptable census that will provide demographic data for sustainable national planning and development,” Kwarra added.
The Federal Commissioner representing Nasarawa State at the commission, Silas Ali Agara, commended the federal and state governments for the approval and support for the commission to conduct census in 2023.
While commending Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa state, traditional rulers and other stakeholders for the support always given to NPC, Agara also assured Nigerians that the commission would do everything possible to deliver a credible and reliable census in 2023.
Also, the Census Committee Chairman, Ipalibo MacDonald-Harry, said that every stage of the process from mapping, e-recruitment, virtual training and enumeration, among others were designed and built on a digital platform for easy exercise.
He explained that 2023 census would be the first digital in Nigeria, therefore the commission is putting the right strategies on ground to deliver the most acceptable census exercise.
Declaring open, the Second Level Management Training Workshop, Governor Abdullahi Sule appealed to the NPC to select Nasarawa to be among states for the forth coming trial census in June.
The governor explained that the state needs a census because, the population of Karu Local Government Area alone is more than the population of the state as captured during the 2006 census”.
According to Sule, “my request for the selection of Nasarawa State for the trial census is based on high population density of the Federal Capital Territory that is migrating into Nasarawa State on a daily basis.”
Sule, however, commended the population commission for its effort towards conducting the first digital census exercise in the country, noting that the planned digital census exercise would help in fighting the insecurity in the country.
