Census postponement has given us more opportunity to perfect all processes – FCT NPC commissioner

By Sadiq Abubakar, Abuja.

The commissioner for National Population Commission (NPC) Mr Joseph Shazin Kwali, said the postponement of the 2023 house census exercise by the immediate former administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has given the commission the opportunity to further prefect its processes and system for conduct of the first ever digital census in the country.

Kwali, while speaking during breakfast meeting for media executives on the 2023 population and housing census in Abuja, on Wednesday, noted that the postponement was a welcome idea, adding that the postponement will give the present administration of Tinubu the opportunity to have its input into the census process.

According to him, the commission has carried out all the preparatory activities towards the census such as Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD) conduct of pre -test and trial census, recruitment and training of census field staff, procurement and configuration of personal digital assistant and among others.

He disclosed that about 14, 969 adhoc staff and supervisors were recruited trained by the commission in preparedness for the 2023 census exercise in the FCT.

Kwali, however, said that the commission was quite conscious of the enormous human /material resources, which he said has been expended in the implementation of the preparatory activities of the census exercise in the FCT.

“For us at the commission, this is not a difficult task in coming up with the plan for the 2023 census, the commission was not only looking at the immediate needs of delivering the next census but concerned more with laying a solid foundation for future censuses,” he said.

In his remark, the deputy director of information and communication to the FCTA, Mohammed Hamzat Sule, while commending the FCT NPC commissioner, Joseph Shazin for his efforts towards collaborating with the media to sensitize residents of the territory especially rural dwellers on the importance of the 2023 census.

He called on media organizations on the need to continue to sensitize the public of the significance of the house census exercise, even as he informed the commission that the FCT permanent secretary, Adesola Olusade has pledged his support to the commission anytime the exercise will commence in the FCT.