By Laraba MUREY
As the 2023 Population and Housing Census draws closer, media practitioners have been asked to support the National Population Commission, NPC, to achieve reliable, accurate, and acceptable data which is necessary for planning and development.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mallam Muhammed Bello, who gave the charge over the weekend, said without accurate data on the population and housing demographic in the country, it will not be able to fully develop.
The minister spoke at a one-day capacity-building workshop for journalists on the conduct and effective reporting of the 2023 Population and Housing Census organised by FCT administration in collaboration with NPC.
Represented by the Director of Information and Communication of the FCTA, Mohammed Sule, the minister explained that the administration is working closely with traditional institutions and local authorities in the territory to fully sensitise residents, especially, those in rural communities, on the importance of availing themselves and their households to be counted during the exercise.
While urging participants to pay attention and make judicious use of their time, the minister explained that the workshop will build the participants’ capacity, and skills to enable them to effectively and efficiently report events, and activities geared towards a successful national census.
“Without accurate data of the population and housing demographic in a country, the nation will not be able fully to develop because you would have nothing to rely on when planning for the socio-economic and educational development of the country,” he said.
Bello stated that the 2023 National Population and Housing Census is critical for the advancement of Nigeria, stressing that it is very important that adequate attention be paid to its conduct to ensure its success.
Earlier, the Federal Commissioner in charge of FCT, National Population Commission, Mr. Joseph Kwali, stated that with the approval of the president for the conduct of the next population and housing census in 2023, preparations are in top gear for the successful implementation of the census project.
Kwali added that it is a national event and the responsibility of every citizen to participate by presenting themselves to be counted.
“Over the years, the commission has invested considerable time and resources planning for the census by drawing from its rich institutional experience spanning two censuses and a pool of tested professionals to give the nation a truly digital and scientific census that will generate data for national planning within the context of our present realities,” he said.
He said that the commission has also conducted the first and the second census pre-test exercises to test the census instruments in preparation for the exercise and added that the trial census has been conducted in June 2022.
