Census will address myriad of challenges bedeviling Nigeria — CSOs

Coalition of Civil Society Groups for Transparency and Accountability (CCSGTA) on Thursday passed a vote of confidence on the management of the National Population Commission (NPC) on its preparedness to conduct a credible and acceptable census.

Comrade Obinna Francis who spoke on behalf of the coalition during a press briefing held in Abuja, applauded the NPC Chairman, Nasir Isa Kwarra for introducing groundbreaking initiatives and reforms to the commission.

Francis, who spoke on behalf of the coalition, also hailed the NPC boss for instilling transparency, accountability and probity in the operations of the commission.

While urging Nigerians to continue to support the commission, Francis expressed optimism that the forthcoming census will help in addressing the myriads of challenges in the country.

“The focus on the National Population Commission is in the right direction because of its mandate to ensure accurate census data, which is critical for developing accurate assessments of the nation’s economic well-being and helping the government with proper economic planning.

“The Coalition of Civil Society Groups for Transparency and Accountability is confident that the 2023 population census would go a long way in tackling insecurity in the country, given that it will provide data that can help the government take note of the ratio of security officers proportionate to the nation’s population which can help in improving the security of lives and properties.

“It also has its benefits in the critical agricultural sector in the sense that the census data generated can help to formulate, evaluate, change, and propose policies and programs that help farmers develop market strategies, create more efficient production and distribution systems, and assist in developing and improving methods that will increase agricultural production and profitability.

“We want to seize the opportunity of this Press Briefing to identify with and commend the leadership of the National Population Commission for the laudable initiatives introduced towards attaining a successful National Population Census.

“This is on the heels of its leadership’s display of transparency and accountability in utilizing available resources for this national exercise that is critical to translating our hopes and aspirations into tangible realities.

“It is also on record that the National Population Commission has reiterated its readiness to conduct a credible and acceptable census through the implementation of comprehensive security measures to safeguard its servers, applications, and IT infrastructure through robust and concrete firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, regular security audits, encryption protocols, and multifactorial authentication for privileged accounts.

“The Coalition of Civil Society Groups for Transparency and Accountability is using this medium to pass a vote of confidence on the leadership of the National Population Commission for rising to the occasion in its preparedness for the forthcoming national population census.

“We also call on other critical stakeholders in the country to see the success of the national population census as a collective endeavour that does not rest on the shoulders of the National Population Commission alone but requires a collective action involving all and sundry,” he noted.