Census Update: 760,000 Tablets Distributed to 36 States and the FCT

By Robinson Erebi

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Executive Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC) Hon. Nasir Isa Kwarra, fnsa, says that the Federal Government has procured and distributed 760,000 Samsung tablets and accessories to the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory as part of preparations for the next Population and Housing Census in Nigeria.

**Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and Hon. Nasir Isa Kwarra**

Hon. Kwarra, disclosed this on Wednesday during the inauguration of a 25-member National Census Security and Logistics Committee by the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

He recalled the remarkable landmark achievements of the Commission in its preparatory activities towards the census, notably, the conclusion of Enumeration Area Demarcation of the 774 LGAs as well as the first and second pretest of the census instruments.

However, the government is yet to fix a date for this all important exercise which was earlier slated for May 2023 but postponed by the Muhammadu Buhari Administration.

Census Committee

The Census Committee is tasked with ensuring the secure and efficient movement of personnel and distribution of materials for the upcoming Census.

The National Security Adviser chairs the Committee, with the NPC Chairman serving as co-Chairman. The membership comprises Honourable Minister for Transport, Service Chiefs, the Inspector General of Police, DG DSS, heads of paramilitary and security agencies, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), presidents of NURTW and RTEAN, the Vigilante Group of Nigeria, and key NPC officials.

While inaugurating the Census Committee in Abuja, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu emphasized the need for accurate and reliable demographic data for policy formulation, planning and sustainable development.

“It is in the light of this and the desire to bequeath an enduring legacy of evidence-based planning for sustainable development that the conduct of the Population and Housing Census is of topmost priority to the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

“The setting up of this committee and its inauguration at this point in time is therefore a necessary step toward ensuring peaceful and smooth conduct of the census,” he said.

The National Security Adviser said the scope of the census is so enormous that “safeguarding the personnel and materials, as well as smooth channelling of same is imperative to the overall success of the exercise”.

He explained that the committee must be conscious of several risk factors that might affect the successful conduct of the census.

“The planning and conduct of a gigantic programme such as the census will no doubt come with its challenges in terms of security and logistics arrangement.

“Potential areas of threats to the census include physical attacks on National Population Commission (NPC) staff and facilities, attacks on security personnel on census duty, kidnapping, inter/intra communal violence disrupting preparatory and main census work,” he said.

Mallam Ribadu emphasized that others are attacks targeting NPC databases and ICT architecture, intimidation of members of the public to dissuade them from participating in the process and snatching and destruction of census materials, stressing that the issue of insecurity arising from banditry, kidnapping, armed conflicts, terrorism, insurgency and other violent crimes also pose major challenges to the census.

He, however, said that though the task before the committee is huge, the Federal Government had put in serious efforts to ensure the safety of Nigerians.

“It is expected that with coordinated synergy by the committee, safe movement of personnel and materials before, during and after the census will be guaranteed. This is because we have the confidence that with the calibre of members of this committee, this national assignment will be carried out successfully,” he said.

This milestone marks a crucial step towards the successful and peaceful conduct of Nigeria’s first fully digital census. The establishment and inauguration of this committee also demonstrates a commitment towards ensuring a smooth and secure census process.He also disclosed that the committee would be replicated in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory and in the 774 local government areas of the country.

The NPC Chairman Hon. Nasir Isa Kwarra had said that the census exercise was rescheduled so that the incoming administration of President Bola Tinubu would actively participate in it.

Recall that the Population and Housing Census was scheduled to be conducted in May 2023 but later postponed by President Muhammadu Buhari approved the postponement in April 2023.

Consequently, after a meeting with President Tinubu in July 2023, Hon. Kwarra said that new dates for the census would be announced by Mr. President.