We are Ready for Census | NPC plans meeting with Tinubu over new census date in 2023 Full Details
We are Ready for Census | NPC plans meeting with Tinubu over new census date in 2023 Full Details
Census Date – Before Bola Tinubu becomes president, the National Population Commission intends to meet with him to discuss potential new dates for the population and housing census. This comes after the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, announced on Saturday that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (ret. ), has approved the census’s indefinite postponement from its original May 3 to 7, 2023 date.
The new census date would now be decided by the incoming administration, the minister said.
Sunday PUNCH learned on Saturday from a top NPC official that Tinubu would be meeting with the commission’s top hierarchy in the coming days to tell him on the postponement, measure his response, and potentially get his feedback on when the census would now take place. ((census date)).
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We have nothing more to add to what the Minister of Information and Culture stated in his statement, the official added, speaking to one of our journalists on the condition of anonymity. That is the Federal Government’s stance.
“The only thing I can add to that is that even before the new President’s inauguration on May 29, the panel will interact with him. We shall meet with His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on the new date for the census to gauge his feelings and learn the direction he wants to go, just like we have been doing with the departing administration, but we are unable to offer a date to him.
The NPC Chairman, Nasir Kwarra, and his team met with a few members of the Federal Executive Council on Friday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja before making the announcement on the headcount’s postponement.
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“In reaching the decision to postpone the census, the meeting reiterated the critical need for the conduct of a population and housing census 17 years after the last census, to collect up-to-date data that will drive the country’s developmental goals and raise the standard of living for Nigerians,” Mohammed said.
The president was quoted by the minister as saying that significant progress had been made toward the implementation of the 2023 Population and Housing Census with the completion of the country’s Enumeration Area Demarcation, the holding of the first and second pre-tests, the hiring and training of ad hoc workers, the purchase of Personal Digital Assistants and ICT infrastructures.
He also praised the approach used by the commission to carry out an accurate and trustworthy census, particularly the utilization of technology that could produce a world-class census and establish the groundwork for future censuses. (((census date)))
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Buhari instructed the NPC to keep working on census preparations in order to maintain the progress already made and give the new administration a functional operating platform.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, Minister of State for the Budget and National Planning, Mr. Clem Agba, and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, all attended the meeting on Friday. The census was originally slated for 2022, but it was moved to March of this year and then postponed to May due to the general election.
Kwarra revealed the commission had not yet acquired all the equipment needed for the census during a meeting with diplomats on April 27 in Abuja. “We need up to 800,000 PADs for the country, but we’ve only bought roughly 500,000 so far. The remainder will arrive in a few days, he had said.
Kwarra stated that the organized private sector and other significant players were still expected to donate to the NPC. The local government level training for supervisors and enumerators that was supposed to start the following day has been postponed, the commission announced on April 12 due to “emerging issues.”
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The LGA-level training for supervisors and enumerators, which was supposed to start tomorrow, April 13, 2023, has been postponed due to some new problems, the commission stated in a statement. The public will be informed as soon as possible of the new date.
“We assure Nigerians that all preparations are in full swing and that the commission remains committed to conducting a credible and acceptable population and housing census in 2023.”
Before the announcement on Saturday delaying the census, the NPC had not conducted the training. Agba had stated in March that N869 billion would be required for the census, adding that N291.5 billion had been funded by the government with a further N327.2 billion required.
“The entire requirement for the census (including post-census activities) is N869bn ($1.88bn),” the minister had said. “Census requirement – N626bn ($1.36bn), which is almost $6 per capita (only barely above the threshold of up to $5 per capita); post-census (up to 2025) is N243bn ($527m).
“The government has so far contributed N291.5 billion ($632 million) to the census, or 46% of the overall expenditure for the census. To finish the census, an extra payment of N327.2 billion ($709.9 million) is needed. (((census date))).census date, census date, census date
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Dele Alake, the president-elect’s special adviser, declined to comment when reached about the matter, stating that Tinubu’s opinion should not be sought over a choice made by a sitting President. Alake argued that Tinubu ought to be given the freedom to choose his own policies when he is finally elected.
Has President Buhari resigned from office? You want the president-elect to comment on a decision made by the current president. Why? Before you folks pressure him into things that aren’t his current priorities, let this man first be sworn in. census date
“An incoming President shouldn’t be concerned with so many political issues,”
NPC We’re prepared
When asked about the reasons for the postponement, Dr. Isiaka Yahaya, Director of Public Affairs for the NPC, responded, “The postponement was not a result of our own lack of preparation. Of course, you could argue that we weren’t ready because we didn’t complete the LGA training, but this is untrue. This choice to postpone wasn’t made at a moment’s notice; rather, it was the result of a string of events. Therefore, you could say that the LGA training sowed the seed of the postponement, and the notion from yesterday was a correlation of that process.
“It wasn’t because the NPC wasn’t ready; even at that moment, we were planning to deploy our personnel and equipment, but due to some consultations, we were unable to move through with the LGA training, which of course is what eventually led to the Minister of Information’s declaration. We must be very clear that it was not due to our lack of preparation or logistical problems. The methods and procedures were in place for us to perform the census, but at that point, a number of factors came into play.
He also denied claims that the commission’s lack of finance was the reason it chose to delay the census.
“The second is that it’s also not due to a lack of money,” Yahaya continued. The Federal Government has helped us thus far and is willing to help us finish the process. Therefore, it is not due to a lack of funding.
The conduct of a census is a means to a goal, which is the most crucial thing to keep in mind. You don’t just conduct a census for no reason; we want to use the data, and people who will use it must be involved in the process and comprehend how we get the data. And that’s the new administration that will take office. So instead of merely dumping statistics on them, explain how we came to the decisions that led to the census’s implementation.
“By doing so, they will be able to take ownership of the process and faithfully use the data. It is very crucial. It won’t be a neat situation if one administration conducts the census while another administration is in charge of using the results. These are the concerns that the rescheduling has been made in light of.
“More importantly, the nation’s mood is crucial; many stakeholders have brought up the concern that the nation’s wound would need to be healed after the elections. Of course, the Federal Government, which is in charge of peace and security, must also have been taken into account when making that conclusion, even though it was not the commission’s primary factor.(((census date))).
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When questioned about whether the postponement was supported by the commission’s partners, such as the United Nations Population Fund, the NPC spokesman responded, “Since the primary objective is to achieve the ultimate objective of utilisation of the data, we are very much in tune with that decision to postpone. We also came to the realization that conducting the census alone is insufficient; effective utilization is equally crucial.
“We have consulted with the UNFPA and other partners on a number of occasions, and they are okay with that. They feel quite confident in their choice, which will result in accurate and trustworthy data.
“Everything we need to accomplish has been put in place, so if the future administration wants the census as early as June 2, we are ready. We don’t worry that the incoming administration will conduct the census because even the President, who approved the postponement, instructed the commission to get ready as if it were going to happen soon.
They won’t have any doubts about the accuracy and dependability of the results because of the transparent protocols that have been established.
Source: Punch Newspaper
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