NOA: Census will be conducted digitally to ensure credibility

The National Orientation Agency (NOA) says the forthcoming national census will be credible and efficient.

Garba Abari, NOA director-general, said this on Sunday when he was featured on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) forum in Abuja.

The National Population Commission (NPC) had said the forthcoming demographic poll would be conducted digitally.

Abari said the digital exercise would be the first of its kind in the country.

He added that the NPC had adequately prepared for the census and would ensure a smooth and hitch-free process. 

“In the house listing and numbering, the National Population Commission (NPC) has perfected the space and got the point much beyond what google has done in the mapping,” NAN quoted Abari as saying.

“In terms of specificity and the correctness of the capture of every house and hamlet in Nigeria, NPC has gone far beyond what Google had done.

“We may not say that we are absolutely 100 percent correct, but 99 percent of all houses, structures within the enclave of Nigeria’s territory had been captured digitally, far beyond what google can provide in terms of specificity.”

Abari said previous census exercises had been marred by insufficient data as a result of missing out on technology.

According to the NOA DG, lessons had been learnt and the outcome of the census would be different.

“Digitalisation will enhance the credibility because there is a common template for the exercise and that is all will be sent to the cloud,” NAN quoted Abari as saying.

“The 2023 census is going to be a scientific census; a digital census that responds to the reality of today, responds to the information and technological revolution; it is a census that is aimed at bringing in credible, acceptable, open and transparent force.”