From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has described the collation of reliable data on population as a panacea for effective planning for national development.
Ikpeazu made this known at his country home, Umuobiakwa when he received a delegation of the National Population Commission led by the Federal Commissioner representing Abia State at the Commission, Chief Johny Nwabuisi.
He stated that periodic census was critical to national development because governments at all levels need to know the exact number of people whom they are serving and how best to apportion resources.
He said that the realization of the importance of population census management led his administration to set up a Population Committee for the State for the purpose of liaising with the Federal Government to ensure that the next population census will be seamless in the State.
Ikpeazu assured the Federal Commissioner that his administration shall work closely with the Commission to ensure that the next census scheduled to hold by next year is successful.
Chief Nwabuisi had earlier told the Governor that they were in Obingwa as part of their plan to organize a “trial census” which is to be used to assess their level of preparedness for the main census.
He said the exercise will afford them the opportunity to test their different equipment in readiness for the census next year.
Obingwa LGA, according to him, is one of the Local Government Areas chosen for the trial.