Census: NPC demarcates enumeration areas in Yobe

From Uche Uche, Damaturu.

The National Population Commission, NPC, in Yobe state has joined others states in the federation and the federal capital territory in the 11th phase of the enumeration area demarcation for the purpose of producing a population and housing census that will stand the test of time.
The NPC state commissioner, Mai Aliyu Mohammed who disclosed this to journalists in the state said the exercise is focused on estimating both the human and material resources required for the next census exercise in the country.
He however pointed out that the enumeration activity is not the counting of persons living in the country and thus would not in any way determine the population of the locality but is simply a preparatory activity before the actual census enumeration.
“ In addition to being the foundation for the census, the national sample frame for the country is created from the EAD and would be the one to be used by all data collecting organizations including ministries, departments, agencies and research institutions, in addition to it being used by international agencies such as the IMF and the world bank to monitor the economic and financial performance of the country,” the commissioner stated.
Other derivable from the EAD sample, he added, would include up-to-date list of households, buildings, socio-economic infrastructural facilities and the geo-referenced distribution across localities, wards, local government areas and states among others.
Information derived from these outputs are then used for development planning and efficient distribution of infrastructural facilities and provision of socio-economic services and will equally, in assist the independent electoral commission to create digitized map of INEC registration areas, for the first time, and thus will positively impact future elections.
He pointed out that the latest technology is being deployed for the EAD exercise in order to ensure success, the commission is engaging some freshly retired staff of the commission as community interface assistants to boost community mobilization and enlightenment effort of the commission to get people at the grass roots to take ownership of this important national project.
He added that the exercise would also provide information that would be valuable for security surveillance, crime detection, prevention and facts regarding house distribution derived from the exercise could be used to ameliorate the adverse effects of the ravaging covid-19 pandemic through a more systematic contact tracing and distribution of palliatives.