Census: Postponement Gives Room For Perfection - NPC

Kazeem Badmus

THE Na onal Popula on Commission (NPC) has said the postponement of the 2023 Popula on and Housing Census, earlier scheduled to hold between May 3 and 7, 2023, has given room for the commission to perfect its processes and system needed for the conduct of the exercise.

The commission also said some of the devices needed for the conduct of the census were not ready at the me of postponement.

NPC Federal Commissioner in the State of Osun, Sen. Mudashiru Hussein, stated this during a mee ng with newsmen in Osogbo, the state capital.

Hussein said the task before the commission was to ensure that all the resources expended so far were preserved so that the country will not need to start all over when the census is to be conducted.

He said: “Former president Muhammadu Buhari postponed the main census in order to give the new government the opportunity to have input but the ac vi es are s ll ongoing.

“The postponement also gives the commission the opportunity to further perfect the processes and system for the conduct of the first general digital cen- sus.

“It is a blessing in disguise because if we were to hold the census then, we may be short of devices to be used by our ad-hoc staff

“The commission has acquired personal digital assistance for the 2023 census. About 500,000 of these devices have been deliv- ered in the 36 states and FCT and configured for the exercise. We are s ll expecting 350,000 devices which have been approved before the exit of former president Muhammadu Buhari.

“Conscious of the enormous human and material resources that have been expended in the implementa on of these preparatory ac vi es, the most important task before this commission is to sustain and re-enforce the relevance of these ac vi es for the successful conduct of the 2023 census.

“This will ensure that the na on does not have to start afresh with the conduct of the census, thereby, saving cost.

“The focus of the commission is to ensure that all the resources expended so far are safeguarded and the na on does not need to start all over when the census is to be conducted.”

He added that adequate arrangement was made for the storage of the equipment to be used to prevent damage and the state’s flood control plans.

He said: “The Government is on top of the situa on. As I’m talking to you, our machines are at work at various towns within the state.

‘’Our teams are opening up some waterways in some areas and we are not going to stop un l we have concluded it.

“Every nook and cranny of the state will be cleared and no efforts will be spared at protec ng lives and property of the residents. That is the mandate given to the ministry by Governor Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke”.

In his reac on, the Spokesperson to the Governor, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, who also doubles as the Chairman of Osun Govermor’s Advisory Council on Environment, disclosed that the state has a flood preparedness plan to put a permanent stop to flooding in every part of the state.

Olawale called on residents of the state to play their part by avoiding indiscriminate dumping of refuse inside drainages, waterways and streams.

“His Excellency said the populace must try as much as possible to avoid dumping of refuse in waterways and drainages because when you block drainages, there is bound to be flood and when that happens, proper es are lost to the flood water”, he stated.

IN the end, it was an an -climax, the outcome of the elec ons of the principal officers of the Na onal Assembly went very much as expected. Nevertheless, the race for the President of the Senate was disturbingly close. The new Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, won by a margin of just thirteen votes. This implies that a high number of the Senators were impervious to the need for sensi vity as well as diversity in the composi on of the principal officers, the insensi vity is bothersome!

Now that it is all over, they must se le down to work. The prospects are daun ng; however, the new government has started with a determined gait. The new na onal assembly must deepen the new thrust not by being the subservience “rubber-stamp” but in the spirit of what the French depict as cohabita on. This indicates a respect for the doctrine of the Separa on-OfPowers while maintaining rigorous scru ny and the oversight of the execu ve without being obstruc onist or going into legisla ve gridlock.

The new principal officers must up the ante on the technical efficacy of the legislature. The me is overdue for example to put together a Congressional Budget Office (CBO); this will allow the legislators to have persona will have been confirmed as the Governor of the Central Bank. Lessons of a painful kind must be learnt from this debacle. It must be averted in the future; this means that the odious charade of “ bow and go confirma ons “ must stop! Diligent, rigorous scru ny is now unavoidable. research facili es and technical backup to scru nise more diligently.

A lot of people will be scru nised in the next few weeks, the assembly must insist that por olios be attached to the names of the nominees to facilitate proper assessment. Without a aching the intended por olio what is the purpose of the exercise?

A CBO is necessary to avert the sort of disasters we are ge ng used to, the most recent been the disastrous use of the instruments of ways and means. The complexity of a modern economy in the digital age makes it impera ve for parliaments to be more technically empowered and the largest economy in Africa must not be le behind, it must be at the forefront!

We are at an extraordinary intersec on and the Na onal Assembly will be crucial in the an cipated redirec on of the na onal ethos.

The recent Emefiele debacle is a forewarning about the need for diligent appraisal of the capacity and character of prospec ve poli cal appointees. Had a sensible confirmaon process been undertaken, it is unlikely that a clearly inadequate