Abari: Traditional and religious leaders are essential to success of 2023 census
The success of the 2023 National Population and Housing Census depends in large part on the support of religious and traditional leaders, according to Dr. Garba Abari, Director-General of the National Orientation Agency.
Abari made this statement on Sunday in Abuja while participating in the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum.
The director-general, who serves on the National Publicity and Advocacy Committee for the census, stated that traditional institutions, religious authorities, and thought leaders all play important roles in social mobilization.
He continued by saying that the National Population Commission (NPC) had achieved success in rallying support for the census by involving traditional institutions and religious leaders.
He asserts that traditional institutions and religious authorities’ participation in the census of 2023 will be crucial to its success.
In order to enlist them in the exercise, he said, “The Chairman of the National Population Commission had visited important traditional leaders and made them census ambassadors.
Read Also: Makinde extends a hand of friendship to co-contestants
Additionally, the chairman had traveled to every state in an effort to recruit key participants for the exercise.
Where applicable, the majority of traditional and religious leaders serve on the state census committee, local government census committee, and community census committee.
As for the crucial roles played by these people and organizations, “they have been sufficiently captured and very soon we will see a saturation of their messages in the airwaves, markets, motor parks, the streets, in Churches, and in Mosques.”
The NOA chief therefore urged Nigerians to make sure they were counted, highlighting the importance of an accurate census to national planning and development.
The census, which was previously scheduled for March 29, will now take place from May 3 to May 5, he added.
Abari claimed that the Independent National Electoral Commission’s decision to postpone the governorship and state assembly elections from March 11 to March 18 was the reason for the change in date.
He promised to use cutting-edge technology to prevent any errors, but added that Nigerians shouldn’t anticipate anything less than an open and honest national census.
According to NAN, the nation’s most recent national census took place in 2006.
