As part of efforts to ensure successful coverage of next population
census, the National Population Commission (NPC) on Thursday said the
commission will ensure it gather reliable demographic and housing data
in the 2017 census.
Federal Commissioner for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dr.
Daniel Kwali said getting it right is not an option but an absolute
necessity for the commission.
He spoke at the State Level Training of Field Staff for the First
Phase of the Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD) for the 2017
Population and Housing Census, held in Abuja.
The 2006 population and housing census were greeted with various
controversies as regard methods of data collection alongside religious
interference.
Kwali disclosed that the exercise was part of efforts to gather
accurate and reliable demographic data for evidence based planning and
sustainable development.
The EAD is an exercise conducted primarily before the main census to
demarcate the nation’s territory into small units to allow easy
coverage by the NPC enumerators.
According to him, EAD exercise is not the enumeration of persons
living in the country and its outcomes will not in any way determine
the population of any community, Local Government or State. It is just
the division of the country into small geographical areas to
facilitate enumeration.
His words: “As you are aware, population census is the enumeration of
all persons resident in a country or a well-defined geographic unit at
a particular time. In order to effectively enumerate all these
persons within a reasonable period of time, it becomes imperative to
divide the whole land mass of the country into small unit areas that
can be easily covered by a team of enumerators. This in essence
constitutes the Enumeration Area Demarcation which is one of the core
preparatory activities for the census exercise.
“The EAD is therefore the vehicle that drives the entire census
process in the pre census, actual enumeration and post census period.
Indeed, some of the critical issues that made previous censuses
contentious were attributable to the quality of the EAD for those
censuses.
“To us at the Commission, getting the 2017 Census EAD right is not
just an option but an absolute necessity in the quest to deliver to
the nation an accurate, reliable and acceptable census.”
However, the Commissioner stated that a gradual but meticulous
approach is being adopted to ensure that methodology and strategies
for the EAD are well tested and the personnel for the project are
properly trained.
“This gradual approach allows the methodology to be continuously
fine-tuned to avoid past pitfalls and adjust to current realities.
“The methodology for the census is designed to achieve full Geographic
Information System (GIS) compliance. The Commission in the 2006
Population and Housing Census experimented with digital data capture
and will adopt the methodology for full scale implementation during
the 2017 Population and Housing Census and subsequent surveys in
Nigeria. Furthermore, the Commission will use full image map coverage
of the whole country to ensure that no area is left undemarcated.”
