By Admin
The Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq was on Thursday 10 of December called on the Traditional Rulers and Community Leaders in the state to give necessary support to the National Population Commission, NPC in its forthcoming Enumeration Area Dermacation Exercise said it have ripple effect in the development of the state.
Governor AbdulRazaq made the call at the stakeholders meeting, facilitated by the commission to seek for the Support and Cooperation of the people believed to be crucial to the success of the exercise, held at the NUJ press centre Hall, G.R.A Ilorin.
Kwara state Governor, was represented at the event by the Deputy Chief of Staff, Princess Adebukola Babalola said the State can not afford to be shortchanged “If the exercise is properly done, it might have ripple effect on the state federal allocations. Benefits accruing from accurate data are enormous. Adequate enumeration and capturing of our people could also lead to increase in polling booths and distribution of empowerment and other things from the Federal Government.“
In his opening remarks, the Federal Commissioner of the Commission in the State Alhaji Rasaq Gidado who read the speech of the National Chairman of the Commission, Hon. Nasir Kwarra said the EAD exercise is not a proper census, but a preparatory activity before the actual census enumeration and it should not be equated with the census. “A foundation to build census on”
“Being the foundation for the census, the National sample frame for the country is created from the EAD. The sample frame derived from the EAD is the one that is used by all data collecting organizations, including MDAs and research institutions, stressed that the frame is also used by international agencies including the IMF and World Bank to monitor the economic and financial performance of the country”
He, added that the Commission is also into partnership with the National Electoral Commission, INEC, said “the commission is assisting the INEC to create digitized maps of INEC, Registration Areas (Wards) for the first time as part of the EAD. It is expected that the output of this collaborative will positively impact future elections”
Hon. Kwarra, also disclosed that the commission will be deploying technology for the exercise in order to ensure adequacy and acceptability.
On COVID-19, the Chairman made it known that “necessary measures have been put in place to ensure that field functionaries are properly kitted and trained to observe all protocols as prescribed by the presidential task force on COVID-19 throughout the period of the exercise.”
He, however “call on the state governors, security agencies, traditional rulers and community leaders to provide security, logistics support and conducive atmosphere for our functionaries to perform to their optimum,”
Giving comments at the event, the Secretary of the state Council of Ulamas Justice Soliu Mohammed (rtd) said that “the support of traditional rulers through sensitization of
their subjects will ensure the success of the exercise. Waxing spiritual, the former Grand Khadi of the Kwara state Sharia Court of Appeal, said that “Allah is a divine enumerator”
“No tangible and meaningful development can take place without proper and accurate number existing in a give society. There cannot be no comprehensive development without government knowing the number of the aged, young, new births and death in any local government, state and country without accurate census”
Speaking at the meeting, the Olomu of Omu-Aran, Oba AbdulRaheem Adeoti, who his domain is one of the communities that will be taking part in the exercise, urged the commission to be circumspect in carrying out the exercise in order for them to have an acceptable exercise and made it known that the traditional rulers will give necessary support to the workers that will be deploying to their domains.
The training for the workers that will be deploying to the field for the exercise had commenced in the State Capital today and it will run till 19th of December when they will be posted to the various communities for a month exercise.
