By Nudoiba Ojen
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday said that knowing the accurate number of people, their distribution and characteristics were crucial in the planning and development process in any country.
Although Tinubu said that his government would support the National Population Commission to deliver accurate census in the next exercise, he did not give the date when the exercise would take place.
Recall that despite expending over N200billion for the conduct of census earlier billed for 2022 which was later shifted to 2023 and ultimately postponed indefinitely in May, a few days before the Muhammadu Buhari administration handed over to Tinubu.
Tinubu spoke in Abuja when he launched the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics System alongside the National Geospatial Data Repository and the National Coordination Committee on CRVS.
Tinubu, who asserting the importance of census in crucial aspects of national planning, pledged his administration’s support for the next headcount.
The president said, “The population remains the greatest asset of the nation in her development process. Collecting accurate and reliable information on the size, distribution, composition and characteristics of the population is an essential governance activity which is consistent with our Renewed Hope Agenda.
“The commission will therefore be supported in the conduct of next census,” Tinubu said, as he
encouraged government Ministries, Departments and Agencies to cooperate more in providing adequate data needed for planning and appealed to development partners for their support.
According to the President, conducting the census would give Nigeria a 100 per cent shot at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals pertaining to real-time identity management and population data including birth registration.
Tinubu said that NPC had made substantial progress in its quest to deliver the first digital Population and Housing Census, saying, “It is my hope that the result of the census will provide the nation with much needed data for development planning and enthronement of good governance.”
He called on the NPC “to deploy the cutting edge technology in the geospatial data that has been collected through the Enumeration Area Demarcation in implementing the eCRVS.”
NPC Chairman, Hon. Nasir Kwarra, said Wednesday’s launch, realised through the collaboration of the NPC, UNICEF, and Barnksforte Technologies Limited, marked a decisive step toward enhancing Nigeria’s civil registration and vital statistics system, underpinning the nation’s commitment to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 16.9.2 for legal identity for all.
He noted, “The aim of this high-level event is to emphasise the commitment of the current government and leadership to strengthen civil registration data capturing, collation, processing, dissemination and timely access to vital statistics in the country.”
