Homeless persons along side mentally unfit persons living in Nigeria would be counted in the upcoming 2023 housing and population census, says the National Population Commission (NPC).
Chairman of the Commission, Nasir Isa Kwarra, who was represented by Oyo State federal commissioner of the NPC, Eyitayo Oyetunji, at a town hall meeting organised by the National Census Publicity Committee (NCPC) noted that the commission had made adequate preparation for a successful census through the deployment of latest technology.
Oyetunji, who spoke with journalists during the press briefing, further stressed that the support of media was imperative in the census processes, urging them to combat misinformation and disinformation.
Chairman of the NCPC, who is also the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, represented by Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Garba Abari, said that census is an important national event that requires active participation of all Nigerians.
“Census is about development; everyone must collaborate with the enumerators for adequate result and they will be addressed in a language they understand,” he said.
Director, public affairs of the Commission, Isiaka Yahaya, who said the 2023 census is digital through the use of technology, urged Nigerians to respond to questions and provide accurate answers.
He further said Nigerians who do not stay in regular homes would be counted for proper enumeration
Similarly, executive secretary, National Commission for People Living With Disabilities (PLWD), James Lalu, said there are changes and innovations in the 2023 census compared to past census.
He further urged every household that has a person living with disability not to hide their disabilities.
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Also on Wednesday in Ondo State, NPC Federal Commissioner, Prince Diran Iyantan, at a one-day capacity-building workshop for the 2023 population and housing census publicity committee assured Nigerians that the 2023 census would have at least 98 per cent success.
Iyantan explained that the purpose of the workshop was not to undermine the professionalism of the publicity committee members.
“But it is to enhance their capacity to deliver on their mandates.”
Iyantan said that the committee was one of the most important committees to drive the exercise, due to the psyche of the public, because many people were usually reluctant to subscribe to government programmes.
“Because of the importance of this exercise, our governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, thought it wise to assemble the committee with seasoned professionals to have a seamless exercise in the state.”
State Director of NPC, Oluyemi Falusi, speaking on the digital innovations of the 2023 census, said digitisation of the census was in line with United Nations recommendation.
According to Falusi, the 2023 exercise would be the first digital census to be conducted by Nigeria, adding that it would facilitate faster processes, reduce error, track progress, ensure efficiency and ensure prompt publication of results, among others.
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He explained that the training, recruiting, deployment, conduct, analysis and publication and other processes of the exercise were fully digitalised.
Falusi furthered that there would be a call centre and a situation room in the State to assess the daily progress of the exercise.
He further said that data analysis would be done promptly with available digital technology tools to ensure reports were published promptly.
The Head of Census Department in the state, Olufunbi Olowookere, on her part said that the conduct of the population census in the country had been irregular.
According to Olowookere, the current population figures in the country had been based on estimation and postulations, hence the need to conduct the 2023 population and housing census.
She explained that the census was needed for economic and socio-political planning and implementation of government policies.
Olowookere added that Nigeria’s land mass had been demarcated for the exercise and data from the exercise could be used by experts in the health, agric, business, education and other sectors.
