Eyitayo Oyetunji, the chairman of the National Population Commission’s (NPC) Public Affairs Committee, has pleaded with Nigerians to stay inside during the population count.
Nigeria has an estimated 216 million people, and projections indicate that number could rise to 400 million by the year 2050, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Mr. Oyetunji stated that with just one month until the country’s population census, accurate data is essential for effective planning and that movement will have an impact on this collation.
“We don’t encourage people to relocate; the census is primarily used to gather data for planning purposes and to provide amenities infrastructure, both of which require accurate information about the population.
people who live there.
“A census is not a census unless everyone is counted, and that is our cardinal objective. To ensure that everyone is counted once and in the right place, a census must have universality for it to be a census, and that is our intention,” he said on Monday during a live appearance at Channels Television’s breakfast program, Sunrise Daily.
The chairman added that the transparency of this process would help to dispel misunderstandings and mistrust and would encourage the growth of a government that works for the people.
The census’s main purpose is to provide the foundation that will enable any administration to provide the people with a higher quality of life, and in order to do that, a government needs information—not just statistics about their population, needs, and current situation.
“Data is necessary for a new administration to plan, be successful, and begin. You need a plan outlining who should administer what, where they are, how many there are, and what they need. That’s where we ought to start, ideally.
He added that citizens leaving their homes and moving elsewhere would undermine the census effort.
The proper development planning that should be made for you where you are would not then be made, so it is counterproductive to leave your place and go to your village.
made.”
Eyitayo added that the census process was focused on achieving its goal rather than on influencing the results of the election.
It’s not too surprising that people would want to read the meaning given our situation. We took care to keep the census process separate from the election process.
“For this reason, we had to wait until after the most recent elections to make sure that no one would claim that the aim is to use the census results to sway election results. The census is approaching after the elections have been held and concluded.
He urged Nigerians not to interfere with the count by traveling, saying that doing so would prevent the census from being criminalized.
“Make no attempt to travel elsewhere; just go.” We want to gather this information during the census in order to help the administration, so please go to school where you are, use water where you are, use water where you are, go to school where you are, and engage in economic activity where you are.
