Members of House of Representatives Committee on Population on Saturday passed a vote of confidence on the National Population Commission, NPC, as being capable to conduct credible census when the pronouncement is made, reports page3news.com.ng
Chairman, House Committee on Population, Honourable Okunjimi John Odimayo made the pronouncement on day one of the three-day retreat holding in Abuja.
Apparently satisfied with the evidence available on the preparations so far for the conduct of Population and Housing Census, Hon Odimayo said the day one of the three-day retreat was an eye opener for members of the Committee.
“Before now, there was an impression that the amount given to the Commission was squandered.
“But from what we’ve seen so far, we’ve seen a Commission that came up with the idea that can actually give Nigeria accurate data.
“So, from what we’ve seen far, we’re more than convinced that the Commission is ready for the forthcoming Census.
“We know that all the economic indices are based on data and assumption, and this is not good for the country. From what we’ve seen now, this House Committee on Population is going to pass this message to the leadership of the House, and we’re going to make it a compulsory exercise, because with the information we’ve gotten so far, the Census has been executed more than 80%; and the Commission has actually displayed to us that all the areas in Nigeria have been demarcated, and they also give us the assurance that we’ll be counted accurately. So, the onus is now on us to make sure, not only to give fair legislative backing, but to also let the Executive know that this is as important as anything, because with the data they’ve shown to us, it is even possible to use this data to track down insecurity; it is even better to use this data to plan our economy . So, even if they require more money; if we can vote over a trillion Naira for security, this exercise is worth voting money for. We’re going to ensure that all the money they require for the exercise, would be assisted with,” Hon Okunjimi John Odimayo told journalists.
Page3news.vom.ng reports that the Chairman, National Population Commission, Nasir Isa Kwarra in his welcome address, told the lawmakers that the National Population Commission is one of the constitutional bodies listed in the Third Schedule of the 1999 constitution vested with the mandate to collect, collate, analyze, publish and desseminate demographic and socioeconomic data; conduct periodic censuses, and register births and deaths.
Describing population as ‘a critical factor in a nation’s efforts towards achieving sustainable development’, Kwarra said the imperatives for the conduct of next population and housing census rest on the basis that Nigeria have one of the fastest growing populations with the growth rate of 3.2% and an estimated population of about 216 million.
According to him, preparations for the conduct of next Census have reached an advanced stage with the demarcation of all the local government areas in the country into enumeration areas.