The exercise was scheduled to begin earlier in the year, but the administration of former president Muhammadu Buhari delayed its start.

The Federal Commissioner of the NPC, Enugu State, Hon. Ejike Eze, told journalists on Thursday that the commission is only waiting for President Bola Tinubu's announcement on the date to begin the exercise before determining whether or not the 2023 Census will occur.

Eze dispelled concerns that the Census may not occur this year by stating that the commission welcomed the decision of the previous administration to delay the census.

ALSO READ: In the Benue House of Assembly, there was a ruckus over the election of the speaker.

According to him, the development allowed the new administration to participate in the process. Eze stated that the postponement enabled the commission to further refine its processes and systems in preparation for Nigeria's first-ever digital National Population and Housing Census.

Eze made this announcement yesterday during a breakfast conference with media executives in Enugu to discuss the upcoming National Population and Housing Census.

The head of the Enugu State NPC allayed the media's fears that the new administration might cancel the census, expressing confidence that the President, as an accountant and technocrat, recognizes the significance of census data in national planning, particularly in policy and program formulation, budgeting, and other areas.

Eze, speaking on the significance of the exercise, explained that accurate census data will, among numerous other benefits, aid President Tinubu immeasurably in resolving the socio-economic issues caused by the removal of petroleum subsidies, including the implementation of palliative measures.

The purpose of the breakfast meeting, according to him, was to update the media on the status of preparations for the 2023 Census and the next steps in light of the delay.

His words read: “As you are aware, the Commission has carried out all the preparatory activities towards the census such as the Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD), the conduct of pre-tests and trial census, recruitment and training of census field staff, procurement and configuration of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), the establishment of ICT infrastructure across the country and logistics support and advocacy and publicity activities.

“Conscious of the enormous human and material resources that have been expended in the implementation of these preparatory activities, the most important task before the commission is to sustain and reinforce the relevance of these activities to the successful conduct of the 2023 Census. This will ensure that the nation does not have to start afresh, the conduct of the census, thereby saving costs.

“The processes and systems put in place for the census are therefore being currently reviewed to determine what needs to be done to ensure that the preparations do not become obsolete for the census. The focus of the commission is to ensure that all the resources expended so far are safeguarded and that the nation does not need to start all over when the census is going to be conducted.

“For us at NPC, this is not a difficult task. In coming up with the plan for the 2023 Census, we were not only looking at the immediate needs of delivering the next census but concerned more with laying a solid foundation for future censuses.

“This mindset informed the scope and quality of arrangements put in place. For example, the EAD, which involved the division of the country into small land areas, was meticulously undertaken so that only an update would be required for future censuses. Using satellite imageries, the Enumeration Areas (EAs) were all geo-referenced with the coordinates of all the buildings established. Other government agencies are currently using the products of the EAD,” Vanguard quoted the NPC official saying.

In addition, Eze recalled that the recruitment of the temporary employees had been concluded prior to the postponement through a rigorous online process in which approximately one million candidates were vetted and deemed qualified for the position.

He stated that the database of all recruited personnel, including their contact information, is available for the upcoming census, and that reserve personnel will be on hand to manage attrition cases.

ALSO READ: “Politics Aside” – Daniel Bwala Sends Message To Tinubu After Inauguration As Nigeria’s President

Training Has Begun For The 2023 Census

Eze also informed the media executives that the Commission had begun training certain categories of personnel prior to the postponement announcement.

He said: “These training include the facilitators at national, zonal and state levels, Data Quality Managers, Training Centre Managers, and Monitoring and Evaluation Officers. The next categories of personnel to be trained are the Supervisors and Enumerators. The Commission will continue to maintain contacts with the personnel through online training and mentorship.

“Equally, the Commission had acquired Personal Digital Assistants for the 2023 Census. About 500,000 of these devices have been delivered to the 36 state offices and the FCT and configured for the exercise. The adequate arrangement is being made for the storage and security of the equipment to prevent damages and theft.”

According to him, in preparation for the census, the Commission conducted massive advocacy and publicity for the 2023 National Population and Housing Census at the national and state levels, intensified media campaigns, and bolstered collaboration with stakeholders by establishing Census Publicity Committees at the national, state, and local government levels.

According to him, promotional materials in English and local languages have been disseminated, and social media have been utilized extensively. Eze assured that the Commission would continue to advocate to keep the census messages at the forefront of national discourse.

Underscoring the significance of census data, he stated that Section 213 of the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (as amended) made explicit provision for the conduct of the census and granted the NPC the authority to conduct a census, civil registration, and demographic surveys.

Eze stated that the United Nations advises every nation to conduct a population and housing census at least once every ten years.

He lamented, however, that the last census in Nigeria was conducted 17 years ago, in 2006, during the administration of then-President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

According to him, until the most recent efforts initiated by the immediately preceding administration, successive administrations failed to conduct a census.

He lamented that the failure to conduct the census in Nigeria has impeded socioeconomic development planning in Nigeria, as the country has been using obsolete data and projections based on inaccurate estimates.

ALSO READ: Tinubu names Femi Gbajabiamila as his chief of staff.

“This anomaly is what the forthcoming National Population and Housing Census intends to correct.

“Census information is also very useful in tracking progress towards national and internationally agreed development goals. Planners need population information for all kinds of development work, including assessing demographic trends, analyzing socio-economic trends, analyzing socio-economic conditions, designing evidence-based poverty-reduction strategies, and monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of policies,” the statement added.