From ONYEKACHUKWU MELUWA, WARRI
Federal Commissioner representing Delta State in the National Population Commission, NPC, Mrs Blessyn Brume-Ataguba has reaffirmed that the commission remains the sole authority responsible for issuing birth and death certificates, as well as certificates of notification in Nigeria.
Brume-Ataguba stated this in Asaba during a news briefing to mark this year’s World Population Day, with the theme, ‘Empowering Young People to Create the Family They Want in a Fair and Hopeful World.’
Noting that NPC has operational offices across the 25 local government areas of Delta State, she urged residents to visit these centers for their birth and death registrations.
The commissioner advised the public to ensure that they transact only with personnel bearing official NPC identification cards before processing their documents.
“In other places they charge so much money. So I am appealing to members of the press to take this message out to Deltans; only NPC offices and the headquarters in Asaba issue certificates,” she said.
Speaking on the significance of World Population Day, Mrs Brume-Ataguba described it as a clarion call for government and the private sector to recommit themselves to create a supportive environment for young people to thrive.
“Empowering young people, particularly in making informed reproductive choices, is not just desirable, but indispensable to national and state development,” she stressed.
Also speaking, the Delta State Director of NPC, Mrs Jane Odigwe underscored the importance of accurate data in governance, noting that no nation can make meaningful progress without reliable statistics.
“Accurate statistics is needed. The world at large depends on it,” she said.
Other officials of the NPC at the event warned against the falsification of documents, stressing that it is a criminal offence.
