The National Population Commission (NPC), on Wednesday, inaugurated an Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD) programme in Remo North and Ikenne Local Government areas of Ogun, ahead of the forthcoming national population census.
Speaking at the inauguration of the programme held in Iperu, the Federal Commissioner, NPC Ogun, Mrs Oluseyi Aderinokun, explained that the process was to delineate the entire land area of the state into smaller geographical and democratic units.
Aderinokun said that the geographical and democratic units would comprise of a specified number of persons and households, which a team of enumerators could cover during the census.
According to her, the success of a credible and accurate census depends on the quality and reliability of the enumeration area demarcation.
The NPC federal commissioner stated that the EAD exercise was, in no way, the determinant of the population of any locality, local government or state.
“This phase, which is the 10th of the EAD, will hold in 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with one local government in each of the 26 states of the country.
“Ikenne and Remo North Local Government areas were selected for Ogun. During the previous phases, Abeokuta South, Ijebu Ode, Yewa South, Abeokuta North and Sagamu Local Government areas were demarcated.
“Beginning from this phase of the exercise, a new software is being introduced. This innovation, which was developed exclusively and internally by the NPC, has now made the entire EAD process completely paperless,” she said.
Aderinokun noted that the purpose of the gathering was to intimate the state and local governments, traditional rulers, community leaders and the people of the exercise and seek their support, owing to huge deployment of personnel and materials for the exercise.
“Ogun has the largest number of industrial establishments in the country. The state has become a migrants’ destination point. We, therefore, need to capture and document officially, this population growth resulting from our unique position,” she said.
The federal commissioner called on the government and the people of the state to join hands with NPC in achieving a reliable, factual and fool-proof EAD for the next population and housing census.
In her address, the Deputy Governor of the state, Mrs Noimot Salako-Oyedele, commended NPC for the programme.
Salako-Oyedele noted that EAD was not about taxation but about allocation of resources, saying that the state government would cooperate with the commission for the success of the programme.
She said that Gov. Dapo Abiodun had donated 20 motorcycles as part of the state government’s commitment to the success of the exercise and to make the job easy.
“Government will not relent in mobilizing both men and materials for the success of this EAD. I also call for the support and cooperation of our people,” the deputy governor said.
The News Agency of Nigeria
