From John Dike, Osogbo
The Federal Commissioner for National Population Commission (NPC), Senator Mudasiru Hussein, on Monday assured that the 2023 census will be credible and reliable.
Hussein, who gave the assurance on Monday, at a press conference addressed in Osogbo, Osun state capital, maintained that everything about 2023 census would be technology-based.
He expressed the readiness of the Commission to embark on a digital census that will be accurate, precise and beneficial for all which will devoid of manipulation.
He further explained that the commission had engaged about 17,000 personnel in a bid to ensure itch free 2023 population census.
“In Osun state we are engaging 17,000 personnel for the population and housing census for 2023. We have trained them including facilitators, enumerators and supervisors. The special workforce have also been trained which will be responsible for maintaining the PDA on the field. We have also trained monitoring and evaluation team and other administrators.
“We have started Enumeration Area Demarcation where we divided larger portion of the land into smaller units. This was done throughout Nigeria.
“We are ready for the census because the president has graciously approved 60 percent of Personal Digital Assistant(PDA) gadget from oversee and 40 percent for local gadget. Out of 800 that will be deployed for Osun, we have over 500 available now. They are working on it and before May we will take the delivery.
“The PDA is programmed in such a way that can’t be manipulated. It is more effective than the analog and it is even fast to conduct the exercise.
“The reason why the census was shifted was because the election was shifted. The shift affected our activities.
“The PDA have been geo-fenced which will reduce manipulation to the bearest minimum. It can’t work outside the enumeration area given to the enumerator.
“We are going to count people on sight. The number of minutes spend by our personnel will indicate at our situation room both in state office and Abuja, so there won’t be manipulation. We want crisis free census. We are going to embark on peace talk from tomorrow to speak with the people on boundary issues.”
Also speaking, the Director of NPC in Osun State, Martins Owoeye, disclosed that efforts had been made to make the 2023 population and housing census follow acceptable international standards.
Owoeye who assured that the commission has mapped out strategies ensure adequate security explained that the commission had deployed sophisticated technology to enumerate every part of the state.
Our correspondent reports that the last population and housing census in Nigeria was held in March 2006 during the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo. Before then, the last census was carried out in 1991 under General Ibrahim Babangida’s regime.
