Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Tuesday assured that his administration would provide an enabling environment for the conduct of a hitch-free National Population and Housing Census slated for 2023.
Governor Sanwo-Olu gave the assurance at the stakeholders’ summit for the project, held at Alausa, Ikeja Lagos, just as he strongly appealed to all Lagosians to participate fully in the exercise by cooperating with the National Population Commission (NPC) officials and the committees in the series of activities lined up towards the 2023 Population and Housing Census.
The governor, while making the plea, said the exercise was extremely important, noting that besides providing an opportunity to reveal the actual population figure, the census would “also provide us with vital data and statistics in many other areas, that will enable us to plan better and deliver more effective infrastructure and social services to the people of Lagos State.”
In his address, NPC chairman, Nasir Isah Kwarra, declared the readiness of the commission for the exercise and also appealed to all Lagos State residents to participate fully in the forthcoming exercise because of the many benefits attached to it.
He commended Governor Sanwo-Olu’s proactiveness towards the exercise, saying that Census was not about ethnicity but about Nigeria.
Kwarra implored non-indigenes of the state, who work and reside in the state, not to border themselves to travel to their various hometowns for the exercise but to stay in the state and be counted.
Also speaking, the Oniru of Iruland, Oba Abdulwasiu Gbolahan Lawal, who represented Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, at the event pledged the support of all the traditional rulers in the state towards a hitch-free exercise, just as he appealed to the Federal Government to share the data that would be gathered from the exercise with the state government.
“I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the Federal Government to share data derived from this next census with the state governments to enhance their planning.
“On the other hand, I would also like to implore the National Population Commission to create more awareness and sensitize the public on the forthcoming census and its importance. People need to know what to do towards and during the exercise,” he said.
The special adviser to the governor on special duties, Mobolaji Ogunlende, in his welcome address, also reiterated the importance of the exercise, saying it would aid the planning of the incoming administration for a greater Lagos.
He equally implored all Lagosians to participate fully in the exercise, noting that it was the first digital census in the country which would give the government another opportunity to get things right.
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