2023 Census: We’re Ready But Waiting To Get Go-Ahead From Tinubu- NPC

The National Population Commission (NPC) clarified on Sunday that  the commission has done everything required and ready to conduct the 2023 National Housing and Population Census, but however waiting to get the go -ahead from the incoming Bola Tinubu administration.

Team@orientactualmags.com learned  Director of Census, NPC,  Dr Isiaka Yahaya made this clarification  during the press conference  held  in Abuja on Sunday  noting  that  this was necessary to  fault media reports claiming that the commission’s failure to make proper preparations had led to the postponement of the exercise.

Yahaya  added that the commission has built strong foundation for the process.

‘The preparation will continue as it is a process that has started. We have done everything that needs to be done and we are ready to move. If not for the rescheduling of the gubernatorial elections, the census would have held because we felt after the initial fate, the post- elections healing would set in which would have allowed the smooth conduct of the census’ he said.

Yahaya  noted that the commission having conducted the first and second pre-test of the census materials as well as a trial census,  would be achieving  the first digital census in the country.

‘Technically, we are ready as we have the enumeration area information of all the 774 local governments in the state. We have used various methods to collect the data on all the houses on the country including places where there is insecurity and we are ready to go into those places to conduct the census’ he added.

The NPC top official  commended President Muhammadu Buhari for giving the commission  necessary supports to conduct the census that had not be done in the country for 17 years.

Yahaya also clarified  that  there would not be a need for a fresh preparation whenever a date is fixed by the incoming administration.

He also faulted claims that there was no awareness campaign in respect  of the census adding  that over 3 million Nigerians applied for the ad-hoc recruitment  out of which 855,600  people were chosen.

 Census Manager of the commission, Inuwa Jalingo also added that NPC  has leveraged on the United Nations’ standards for the digital census submitting that the commission has data on Nigeria’s geo-spatial information that other government agencies have been using to carry out their own activities.

Inuwa also disclosed that the commission was already in possession of over 400,000 tablets to be used for the census exercise which have been made available and kept at Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) branches across the states-Team@orientactualmags.com
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