Group urges govt to conduct credible national census for development

The Conference of Ethnic Tribes and Minorities (COETAM) in Nigeria insists that without credible data, Nigeria’s development would surely be hindered.

Led by Comrade Patrick Ameh, the group, in a statement on Tuesday, stressed the urgent need for the government to conduct another national exercise to accommodate the sudden population explosion and correct the defects of the last census exercise, which was widely contested.

COETAM contended that, based on extant provisions of the laws pioneered by the National Assembly and the United Nations conventions, a national population census exercise is long overdue, hence the appeal for action.

It maintained that there can be no meaningful development and prosperity if the government continues to plan with unreliable data, especially in the face of global economic uncertainties.

COETAM called on the members of the National Assembly to renew and escalate calls for a credible national census exercise, just as it commended the Committees on National Population and Identity in the 10th National Assembly for their cooperation and excellent legislative roles in guiding the National Population Commission in the performance of their functions.

The group remarked that the role of the National Population Commission is critical to the planning and development of the nation, which is the ultimate agenda of the current administration under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The group noted the sterling reforms spearheaded in the management of future census exercises under the current leadership of the Commission with regard to the preparation for the proposed national census exercise, adding that worthy of note is the transition of the Commission’s operational capacities—seamlessly replacing analogue operations with digital systems that would minimise and eliminate human errors to ensure the credibility of the exercise.

It further listed the training and retraining of over one million resource persons across the country, the acquisition of Digital Personnel Assistants, the design, development, and procurement of relevant IT infrastructure, as well as the successful demarcation and marking of the entire country by the Commission, which more than ever points to the preparedness of the Commission to deliver a credible and acceptable census exercise when Mr President issues the proclamation.

It further called on civil society, religious leaders, traditional rulers, and corporate organisations to join the conversation on the need for a truly credible national census exercise as soon as practicable, so as to reset and fast-track development to match President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.