The National Population Commission (NPC) has said that the 2023 National Population and Housing Census would be the greatest in the country’s history.
Mr. Abubakar Danburam, NPC’s Federal Commissioner in Gombe State, disclosed this in Gombe on Tuesday at the inauguration of a 16-member Advocacy and Logistics Committee for the state’s 2023 Population and Housing Census.
Danburam said that given the commission’s efforts so far, as well as the digitization of the process, the 2023 census will be better than any in the nation’s history of conducting enumerations.
He said that with the commission using technology and a contemporary approach to conducting enumerations, there was little question that the 2023 exercise would be an upgrade over previous ones.
He said that the NPC’s emphasis in conducting an accurate, reliable, and acceptable census was owing to the census’s relevance in development planning and other measures that would promote residents’ well-being.
According to him, the 2023 enumeration would address the issues raised by earlier operations.
“I recall the 1963 enumeration vividly; there were numerous irregularities due to a lack of development.” The 1973 enumeration showed minimal improvement over the 1963 census.
“Subsequent censuses resulted in significant improvements.” From the level of demarcation, the current census to be done is digital.
“This is due to the fact that we are now mature enough to use satellite imagery.” “The satellite image was used for the demarcation, which is known as the Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD),” he said.
He noted that the current census was built on the EAD: “This demarcation was done meticulously and neatly.” This nation has been completely delineated; there are no leftovers or overlaps.
“This gives us all confidence that the upcoming enumeration will be digital, and hopefully the best enumeration ever conducted in this country.”
Manassah Jatau, the Deputy Governor of Gombe State who also serves as the committee’s head, said the 2023 enumeration will give critical information on the socioeconomic characteristics of the nation’s population.
As the NPC worked to conduct a credible enumeration that adhered to best worldwide practices, Jatau recommended the commission to take preemptive steps to reduce the risk of manipulation throughout the exercise.
“The digital census is most likely to eliminate previous bottlenecks associated with accurate enumerations in the country over the years.”
“However, it is important to note that it is humans who control and sometimes manipulate these machines that were designed to make it easier to carry out tasks and jobs more accurately and with great precision,” he added.
The chairman told his committee members that their job was to educate, sensitize, and secure the support of Gombe State population for the effective conduct of the exercise in May.
