The National Population Commission (NPC) has assured Nigerians and the international community of a credible and acceptable census in 2023.
The Executive Chairman of NPC, Mr Nasir Kwarra, gave the assurance while declaring open a five-day workshop for second level management staff for the five states within the South-East on Friday.
Kwarra, represented by Chief Ejike Ezeh, Federal Commissioner in NPC, said that the census would provide demographic data for sustainable national planning and development.
He noted that it was inevitable that the nation needed evidence-based planning using accurate-cum-reliable data.
Kwarra disclosed that preparations for conduct of the 2023 Population and Housing Census are in top gear.
He said that the Commission was leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that the results of the census are acceptable to Nigerians and the quality of the data to be generated meets international best standards for planning and developmental purposes.
According to him, it is imperative that the Commission staff should be adequately trained for the Population and Housing Census, as such the quality of staff that will perform the activities are very important.
“Therefore, having a good knowledge of the content of the census document, the technique and the organisation of the census is key to its success.
“The aim of the workshop is to ensure that the state directors, Local Government Area (LGA) management staff and other senior management staff are trained on detailed principles and methodologies for a successful census.
“This will provide the platform to adequately train the key census personnel at the state and LGA levels. They shall be trained on the required management rules, regulations, and procedures that are necessary for the implementation of census projects.
“Furthermore, taking into consideration the significant change in the way that Population and Housing Censuses are conducted due to the use of electronic data collection technologies, this workshop aims to teach the basic concept terms of the questionnaire.
“The workshop will expose the participants to know about the planning, principles, methodology, and management of the census activities and to also have a better understanding of the use of electronic data collection technologies, particularly the use of Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) devices”.
The executive chairman noted that the training presented a good opportunity for participants to grow their knowledge-base and improve their job skills as staff of NPC.
“To achieve the objectives of this training, participants must show commitment and dedication by giving full attention to the content of the training because much is expected from you at the end of the training exercise.
“The present Commission under my leadership is committed to training and re-training members of staff with the belief that this will help the Commission in the effective delivery of its mandate.
“It is, therefore, gratifying to note that this workshop has been put together to enhance the technical and managerial capacity and skills of the management staff of the Commission,” he added.
One of the participants, Dr Joachin Ulasi, said that the workshop was already exposing them on the use of electronic devices for data collection.
“It has exposed us to best practices in population enumeration as well as how electronic devices can help us do our job better, faster and more reliable,” Ulasi said.
