By Rakiya A.Muhammad
The National Population Commission (NPC) has assured of its determination to hold the first-ever digital census in Nigeria.
Federal Commissioner in charge of Sokoto state, Alhaji Chiso Dattijo, gave the assurance at a meeting with media executives and other stakeholders in the state.
“The census will be conducted. The new administration will announce a new date,” he stated.
He noted that the postponement allowed NPC to perfect its processes and systems for conducting the exercise.
Dattijo lauded the media for their role in information dissemination on the census and urged them to sustain the tempo towards the successful conduct of the exercise.
In his remark, State Director, Alhaji Malami Marafa-Gagi, reiterated their commitment to an acceptable and reliable exercise.
He said they had made adequate preparation for a comprehensive exercise.
” The commission is determined to conduct the census,” he said.
“The arrangement is on; the exercise will take place.”
The State Director noted the media as a strategic partner in the exercise and urged them not to rest on their oars in educating Nigerians on the census, which is essential in a nation’s planning efforts.
While noting the media as a strategic partner in the commission’s arrangements for the census, they gave details of all that the NPC had done in the state.
Also speaking at the meeting, renowned sociologist Prof. Tukur Baba underscored the implication of a national census for planning and policy-making.
Prof. Baba emphasised the acceptability and comprehensiveness of a census exercise, adding, “It is vital that we get the census right.”
He pointed out: “NPC has to be commended when circumstances beyond everyone forced a postponement.”
Prof. Mu’azu Shamaki, from Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, expressed high expectations towards the conduct of the exercise.
“It’s been 17 years since the last census, which is supposed to be every ten years; by implication, the data we are using to plan is obsolete,” he observed.
“We cannot attain development with obsolete data; no country can.”
