The National Population Commission (NPC) has assured Nigerians that the population and housing census, proposed for November this year, would generate data that no one would be able to contest its authenticity.
The commissioner representing Cross River state in the NPC Board, Navy Capt. Charles Ogwa (retd.), said this in Calabar, Friday, while addressing journalists on the on-going enumeration area demarcation exercise in Bekwarra, Obudu, Ogoja, Ikom, and Etung local government areas of the state.
He said, “The Commission will produce data that will not be contested. This is because the entire data collection, beginning with the enumeration area demarcation, has already been digitalized by the Commission.
“Unlike in the past when data collection was manually done, present exercise is digital. Once information is received from a particular person or household, it is stringed to local government, the state, zonal and headquarters of the Commission’s data base.”
He charged Cross River people and indeed all Nigerians with accurate information concerning themselves, families and houses to volunteer such whenever enumerators visit them for information, adding “once the information is stringed to any data base, it will be difficult to change.”
Ogwa dismissed fears of conflict or closeness of the proposed population and housing census with 2023 general elections, saying the exercise “will last for only 10 days if November 2022 suggested by the Commission is approved by the president.”
The NPC commissioner stressed that areas where the Commission was unable to access during the routine area enumeration demarcation due to conflicts would be visited before the census proper.
