Success of 2023 census depends on traditional, religious leaders, says Abari

Dr. Garba Abari, Director General of the National Orientation Agency, has emphasized the significance of religious and traditional leaders in order to ensure the success of the 2023 National Population and Housing Census.

This was something that Abari discussed during his appearance on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum that took place in Abuja on Sunday.

It was stated by the director-general, who is a member of the National Publicity and Advocacy Committee on census, that traditional institutions and religious leaders, in addition to leaders of thought, play critical roles in the process of social mobilization.

He went on to say that the traditional institutions and religious leaders had shown support for the census after being engaged by the National Population Commission (NPC), which had achieved success in this endeavor.

According to him, the success of the census in 2023 will largely be dependent on the role that traditional institutions and religious leaders play as well as their participation in the census.

“The Chairman of the National Population Commission had visited key traditional leaders and made them census ambassadors in order to engage them for the exercise,” he explained further.

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In addition to this, he (the chairman) had traveled to every state in order to meet with relevant stakeholders in preparation for the exercise.

The majority of traditional and religious leaders are also members of the census committees of their respective states, as well as the census committees of their respective local governments and communities, wherever it is applicable.

“As far as the role of these critical individuals and institutions is concerned, they have been sufficiently captured, and very soon we will see a saturation of their messages in the airwaves, markets, motor parks, streets, and even in Churches and Mosques,” said the author. “As far as the role of these critical individuals and institutions is concerned, they have been sufficiently captured.”

The head of the NOA emphasized how important an accurate census is to national planning and development, and as a result, he urged all Nigerians to make sure that they were counted in the upcoming census.

He also mentioned that the census, which was supposed to take place on March 29, will now take place from May 3 to May 5.

According to Abari, the date change was necessary due to the Independent National Electoral Commission moving the elections for governorship and State Assembly from March 11 to March 18. These elections were originally scheduled to take place on March 11.

He stated that Nigerians should not expect anything other than a transparent national census, while at the same time assuring the deployment of cutting-edge technology to prevent any lapses in the process.

According to the NAN, the country’s most recent national census was carried out in the year 2006.