Joel Ajayi
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Mr Nuhu Ribadu, on Wednesday, inaugurated a 25-member National Census Security and Logistic Committee for the conduct of the next Population and Housing Census.
The committee members are drawn from the military, paramilitary, police force, relevant ministries, unions and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
While inaugurating the committee in Abuja, Ribadu, said that the need to provide the nation with accurate and reliable demographic data for policy formulation and planning for sustainable development could not be over-emphasised.
“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 first step towards ensuring the peaceful and smooth conduct of the census.”
Ribadu also said that the scope of the census was enormous, so safeguarding the personnel and materials as well as the smooth channelling of same was imperative to the overall success of the exercise.
He added that the committee must be conscious of several risks factors that may militate against 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 includes 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.
“Attacks targeting NPC databases and ICT architecture, intimidation of members of the public to dissuade them from participating in the process, snatching and destruction of census materials, among others.
“Most prominent is the issue of insecurity arising from banditry, kidnapping, armed conflicts, terrorism, insurgency and other violent crimes which poses a major challenge to the census exercise.”
He, however, said that though the task before the committee is huge, the government has put in serious efforts to make the country safe for everyone.
“It is expected that with coordinated synergy by this committee, the 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.”
The NSA also disclosed that the committee would be replicated in all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory and in the 774 Local Government Areas of the country.
Mr Isa Kwarra, the Chairman of NPC and the chairman of the committee, said that the commission attaches great importance to the work of the committee whose work was very critical and important to the commission’s quest to give Nigeria a credible, reliable and acceptable census data for national planning.
He assured that the commission would without delay organise workshops on processes and methodologies for the census to keep members of the committee up-to-date on the preparation for the census.
Citing some milestones the commission had reached while preparation for the exercise, he said they include the enumeration area demarcation of the 774 LGAs and the first and second pretest of census instruments.
Others are procurement of 760,000 tablets and accessories and distribution of same to all states of the federation.
“From theses milestones, it is obvious that the commission has a herculean task in deploying personnel throughout the nook and cranny of the country.
“With the structure and facilities of members of this committee, I am confident that the committee has all it takes to mitigate the security and logistic challenges of the coming census.
“I wish to assure the committee and all Nigerians that the commission remains committed to the conduct of a credible and acceptable census that will be transformational and meet international standards.
“In the coming census, everyone will be counted in the right way, at the right place and time, and for the benefits of all persons resident in Nigeria,” he said.
He, however, assured all members of the committee of steadfast support from the commission, adding that it was ready to fully support the committee in all areas to make it succeed in its assignment.
