Failure to conduct 2023 census ‘ll cause loss of resources, data-- NPC

The National Population Commission (NPC) has said, failure to conduct the census in the shortest possible time could lead to loss of resources and also make informations gathered across the country for the exercise to become stale

The NPC Federal Commissioner in Ekiti State, Hon. Ayodeji Ajayi said that the conduct of the census should be hastened so that preparatory activities, information gathered as well as the money already spent before it was postponed would not be a waste.

Speaking at a parley with media executives in Ado-Ekiti, Ayodeji said the commission has made some significant progress in its preparation towards the conduct of the exercise.

He listed activities already carried out by by NPC to include the demarcation of the Enumeration Areas, the conduct of first and second pre-tests, recruitment and training of ad hoc workers, procurement of Personal Digital Assistants amongst other equipment.

The NPC federal commissioner  noted that since the census had been planned already, the best option is to proceed with the exercise in view of the huge financial resources that have been spent so far on the project.

He added that over N140billion has been expended on procurement of technology and equipment preparatory to conduct a hitch-free first digital population census in the country.

“The census must be held within the shortest time possible. We have gathered information across the country. If we don’t use them within the next 12 months, they will become stale. We conducted Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD) three years ago and by the time we start afresh, we had to go back to redo the EAD because so many people have migrated and so many houses have been built.

“We don’t want to start all over again. However, we cannot shy away from it if the Federal Government says so. But because of the huge finances that have been committed to this exercise, the best thing for us is to move forward and deliver the census.

“Actually, this government will need the data that we are going to produce for them to plan for this country, whether at national or sub-national level. So, the best thing is to march forward, hoping that the Federal Government will make the proclamation.

He expressed optimism that the new administration of President Bola Tinubu would soon issue  proclamation for the conduct of the census because it needs accurate and reliable data to plan for the country.