The National Population Commission (NPC) has said even though the census exercise has been politicised, it is not a political exercise.
Federal Commissioner of NPC in Lagos, Barr. Abimbola Salu-Hundeyin reiterated that the census exercise is all-encompassing as it affects every fibre of the country.
She, however, charged state governments to key fully into the exercise in a bid to correct whatever anomalies noticed in the previous exercises, saying the 2023 census has been fully digitised to enhance the accuracy, reliability and credibility of the forthcoming exercise.
She spoke in Lagos during a one-day capacity building workshop for media practitioners on effective reporting of the 2023 population and housing census.
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Daily Trust reports that the Federal Government has fixed March 29 to April 29 to April 2nd for the housing census.
Speaking at the workshop, the Federal Commissioner stated that though census is politicised, it is not a political exercise but basically an economic activity to provide the data that would aid development in all sectors of the country and improve the accuracy of the political process.
According to her, population census is important in the life of any nation.
She said the NPC as part of its commitment to provide the country with accurate, reliable and credible data, has made the 2023 census fully digital in order to deepen the accuracy of the data.
Salu-Hundeyin said the digital census exercise was an opportunity for states to get it right and resolve challenges associated with the previous exercises in order to have a reliable and accurate census of their states.
She noted that the foundation of the census exercise was built months ago when the Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD) was carried out, saying, “It was during the EAD that we built the foundation of the census. At that point, every part of the country was covered.
“The EAD was to give Nigeria a national census,” she said.
The Commissioner said, “It is not out of place to say that population census is very important in the development of any country that desires growth and development in all ramifications. It is therefore not wrong to say that population census is the data that engenders development and growth. That is why one can conveniently say that census is the “mother of all data” that drives growth and development.”
She advised the media practitioners to avoid all negative prejudices in their reportage of the census activities.
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