The objective of the breakfast meeting was to update the media on the progress of preparations for the 2023 Census and discuss the next steps following the postponement.
By Johnson Atoukudu:
The Federal Commissioner of the National Population Commission (NPC) in Enugu State, Hon. Ejike Eze, indicated that President Ahmed Bola Tinubu will have the final say in determining the date for the 2023 National Population and Housing Census. Eze shared this information during a breakfast meeting with media executives in Enugu, discussing the upcoming census.
During the meeting, Eze assured the media that there were no concerns about the new administration discontinuing the census exercise. He expressed confidence that President Tinubu, being an accountant and technocrat, understands the significance of census data in national planning, particularly in policy formulation, program development, and budgeting.
Eze expressed the NPC’s appreciation for the decision of the previous administration to postpone the census, allowing the new administration to provide inputs into the process. He mentioned that this delay provided an opportunity for the commission to enhance its processes and systems for conducting the first-ever digital National Population and Housing Census in Nigeria.
Emphasizing the importance of census data, Eze explained that reliable census information would greatly assist President Tinubu in addressing socio-economic issues arising from the removal of fuel subsidy and implementing palliative measures.
The objective of the breakfast meeting was to update the media on the progress of preparations for the 2023 Census and discuss the next steps following the postponement.
Eze also mentioned that recruitment of ad-hoc workers had already been completed prior to the postponement through a rigorous online process, during which approximately one million workers were screened and deemed suitable for the assignment. The database of all recruited personnel, including their contact details, is available for the upcoming census, and reserve personnel are prepared to handle cases of attrition.
