FG confirms date for commencement of 2023 census

The Federal Government has announced May 3 for the commencement of the National Population and Housing Census.

The Director-General, National Orientation Agency (NOA) Garba Abari disclosed this on Sunday when he appeared as a guest on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum.

Abari said the exercise which would be from May 3 – May 5 would capture every person, household and structure for national planning and project execution purposes.

The federal government had earlier fixed March 29 as date for the commencement of the census but had to shift it following the postponement of the gubernatorial and state house of assembly elections.

“That change by INEC made it mandatory for us to also adjust the date for the conduct of the exercise,” NAN quoted Abari as saying.

“The census had to be put forward from the initial date of March 29 to April 2nd, now to May 3rd to 5th.

“There are two things that informed the shift in date. First, in the course of our planning by the National Population Commission, it was so factored that INEC will also tinker with its own electoral timetable.

“The gubernatorial election, as you are aware, had to be shifted by one week. This had a telling effect on the date of commencement of the census.

“Just like election, the census is also a very long process, from the training, the sub-trainings, retraining leading uptill the very day of the actual house listing and numbering.

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“These will then be followed by the actual capture of the population.”

Abari, who is a member of the Publicity and Advocacy Committee on the 2023 National Population and Housing Census, said the exercise which will be digitally conducted will be the first of its kind in the country.

He added that the NPC had adequately prepared for the census and would ensure a smooth and hitch-free process.

“In the house listing and numbering, the National Population Commission (NPC) has perfected the space and got the point much beyond what google has done in the mapping,” NAN quoted Abari as saying.

“In terms of specificity and the correctness of the capture of every house and hamlet in Nigeria, NPC has gone far beyond what Google had done.

“We may not say that we are absolutely 100 percent correct, but 99 percent of all houses, structures within the enclave of Nigeria’s territory had been captured digitally, far beyond what google can provide in terms of specificity.”

Abari said previous census exercises had been marred by insufficient data as a result of missing out on technology.

According to the NOA DG, lessons had been learnt and the outcome of the census would be different.