2023 Census : NOA, NPC Advise Nigerians To Take Full Ownership Of The Exercise
The Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) Abuja, Dr. Garba Abari, has advised Nigerians to take full ownership of the 2023 National Population and Housing Census with a view to generating verifiable and Internationally acclaimed standard data for all round development of the county.
Dr. Abari, gave the advice at a One-Day National Population Commission State Level Capacity Building Workshop on 2023 Population and Housing Census in Collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA), held at the Industrial Training Fund Conference Hall in Awka.
The Workshop was organized for the Management and Field Officers of the two sister organizations.
The NOA Director-General, represented at the Capacity Building Workshop by his Chief Press Secretary and the Public Relations Officer of NOA at the National Headquarters, Abuja, Mr. Paul Odenyi, described the theme of the workshop, “Getting People Involved,” as very apt.
He added that with the involvement of NOA in the conduct of the 2023 Census, especially in the areas of mobilization and sensitization, Nigerians will witness a new dawn in the chequered history of Census conduct in the country over the years.
While calling on the participants to be very serious with the workshop, the NOA overall boss also urged them to take the massage of the next year’s Census to all the length and breadth of the State, especially to the corridors of Traditional Rulers, Presidents-General, Market Leaders Religious Heads, etc, to educate them on all they need to know about the Census.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Hon. Federal Commissioner, representing Anambra State in the National Population Commission, Abuja, Sir Chidi Ezeoke, posited that NPC’s collaboration with NOA was designed to complement the advocacy and publicity activities being carried out by the Commission at the National and State Levels towards holistic and successful conduct of the Census in all States across the country and Abuja.
“The purpose of this collaboration between NPC and NOA is to enhance the sensitization and mobilization of Ndi Anambra and residents in Anambra for the successful conduct of the 2023 Population and Housing Census.
”The collaboration with the NOA is also designed to complement the advocacy and publicity activities being carried out by the Commission at national and state levels towards the implementation of the 2023 Population and Housing Census. Above all, it is consistent with the national practice in which the grassroots reach of NOA is being deployed for sensitization and mobilization of the people for development programmes such as sanitation, electoral participation and immunization among others.
“The NOA has established structure and channels of communication in national, state and local government areas. It has also cultivated a relationship with opinion leaders and influencers at the grassroots through its presence in all the Local Government Areas of the state. Leveraging these existing structures of NOA where it has a comparative advantage over the Commission will ensure grassroots dissemination of the 2023 Census messages.
“The NPC/NOA partnership on the 2023 Census advocacy and Publicity campaign will focus on two main areas. First, to build the capacity of the National Orientation Agency functionaries to have a deeper understanding of the census methodology to effectively sensitize and mobilize the people for the 2023 Census. Second is the field sensitization activities that include, street campaigns, community sensitization and advocacy visits by a joint campaign team of NPC/NOA officials in 21 LGA’s in Anambra state.
“There is no gainsaying that any organization that strives to achieve success must constantly convey information and engage all its stakeholders to secure their cooperation and support. For a people-oriented organization such as the National Population Commission, constant and effective engagement with the public is crucial to the attainment of its constitutional mandate of generating data for national planning”.
Speaking on the aim of the Workshop, the Anambra State Director, National Population Commission, Awka,Tpl Joachim Ulasi, maintained that the essence of the Workshop was to educate the NOA Management and Staff on the methodology and processes, as well as to leverage on the nationwide and grassroots reach and structures of the Agency in publicity campaign regarding the Census.
On his part, the NOA State Director, Barrister Charles Nwoji, intimated that the conduct of 2023 Census is highly technological driven, calling on the Community Orientation and Mobilization Officers of the Agency in the twenty – one Local Governments in the State to take the message of the workshop down to the grassroots so that the people would be fully aware of the Census exercise.
He challenged Nigerians to regard the overall success of the Census as a collective task with a view to rewriting the history of the country this time around.
The Workshop which was attended by the Management and Local Government Controllers of the National Population Commission and their counterparts in the National Orientation Agency (NOA), featured lectures on the Process and Methodology of the 2023 Population and Housing Census, by Mrs Chinyere Maduagwuna of the Commission, Digital Mapping and Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD) for Census by the State Director of the NPC, TPL Joachim Ulasi, among others.
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