The 2023 population and housing census survey was later postponed by the immediate preceding government of President Muhammadu Buhari, according to the Akwa Ibom State-based National Population Commission, NPC.
Chief Benedict Ukpong, the national population commissioner for Akwa Ibom, revealed this in a discussion with state media executives on Tuesday at the Breakforth Hotel in Uyo. He said: “The processes and systems put in place for the census are therefore being currently reviewed to determine what needs to be done to ensure that the preparations do not become outdated for the census.
“The commission’s main goal is to protect all of the resources already used so that the country won’t have to start over when the census is done.”
The commission has successfully delineated all localities (villages) in the 31 local government areas of Akwa Ibom, including the coastal communities, oil platforms, and other difficult-to-reach areas, according to Ukpong, who also emphasized that the Enumeration Area Maps (EAM) resulting from the exercise are prepared for the state’s census to be carried out.
In order to advance the nation’s shared goals, growth, and development, the federal commissioner asked the next administration to build on the work of the outgoing one and pay attention to the 2023 census. He lamented that the state had not yet officially launched the committee responsible for the exercise’s security and logistics.
Dr. Udeme Nnanna, a lecturer at Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic and the exercise’s originator, warned participants not to bother going to their hometowns since they would be apprehended wherever they resided. While urging the Akwa Ibom administration to collaborate with the commission for the sake of the people, he gave NPC the duty of bringing its advocacy to rural communities.
Amos Etuk, the chairman of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), promised the media’s support for the NPC while pleading with the administration to use the census to gain the public’s confidence.