From Fred Itua, Enugu
National Population Commission (NPC) has revealed that it was ready to conduct a comprehensive national census that will be adjudged the best in the country’s history.
Federal Commissioner representing Enugu State at the NPC, Mr. Ejike Ezeh, who stated this while supervising the ongoing
Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD) in Isi Uzo and Nkanu East local government areas said all necessary steps had been put in place to ensure the conduct of a smooth census.
In an interview with Daily Sun in Enugu, he said the EAD was a pre-census activity and that as soon as President Muhammadu Buhari issues a proclamation, NPC would swing into action and conduct a proper census for the country.
He described EAD as the process of delineating the entire land area of the country into small geographical and demographic units called enumeration areas.
Said Ezeh: “This is a pre-census activity. Before the main national census will take place, you need to have the EAD. It is like someone building a house. You must first have a foundation. That’s what we are doing ahead of the census itself. Once the President issues a proclamation, we are ready to conduct a national census.
“There is no human activity where you won’t have challenges. Whatever challenges we meet on the field, we will surmount them. With committed staff, we are ready. We will place less emphasis on paper work. We will use technology. That will be the major difference between the past census and this one. As far as the current exercise is concerned, President Buhari has funded it 100 per cent. When the main exercise comes up, which is the census, we believe he will fund the main census. The President has showed serious commitment towards having a successful national census.”
He also shaded light on birth and death registration in Enugu State saying “the level of registration of births and deaths is high. We have over 80 per cent penetration here. This is a civil service state. So, the level of education is high. Faith based organisations and state government agencies partner with NPC to ensure that residents register their people,” he said.
