#NPCUpdate

Today at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja, the Chairman of National Population Commission, Hon. Nasir Isa Kwarra, fnsa inaugurated the Technology and Innovation Hub Committee.

The Technology and Innovation Hub Committee comprises staff from different departments of the Commission responsible for enhancing the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems leveraging advanced technologies, such as electronic data capture systems, biometric identification, and cloud-based solutions.

The Committee will ensure technology integration, data management, GIS, data analysis, programming, and fostering inter-agency collaboration.

Through these innovations, the NPC aims to improve data quality, accessibility, and overall efficiency in meeting the nation's revolving data requirements.

The Committee's establishment underscores the NPC's commitment to becoming the leading demographic agency in Africa, meeting the needs of all end users and ensuring a robust population quality for national transformation.

#everyone
#YouCountBeCounted

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid05K5TPdTyddd27sHV3LDyzCWQT3EYqpo5H8NnUE5asVbN9Qxtuz373TZL3qBtLX77l&id=100001429169012&mibextid=Nif5oz

I have found myself at the centre of a pivotal moment in Nigeria’s political landscape. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in a move that brought me immense honour, chose me as a ministerial nominee. Coming from the traditional, conservative regions of northern Nigeria, this represented a significant stride towards a more inclusive national representation.

The sheer joy and pride I felt at my nomination were beyond words. It was a validation of my capabilities, a nod to my vision, and a sign that our great nation was ready to embrace a future where young women like me, even from the most traditional parts of Nigeria, can hold positions of influence and power.

Yet, life, with its characteristic unpredictability, led to the withdrawal of my nomination. To some, this could seem like a setback, but my faith as a devout Muslim guided my understanding. I saw it as the divine will of Allah, who I believe grants power as He wishes, when He wishes. His plans are always superior to ours.

Even with this unexpected twist, my gratitude to President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for considering me for such an esteemed position remains undiminished. The journey doesn’t end here; I believe this is a mere stepping stone, the best is yet to come. My resolve to serve my beloved country, Nigeria, in any capacity I can, is stronger than ever.

I would like to assure my incredible supporters that this is not an end, it is the dawn of a new era I urge all of us to continue praying for our nation and to stand behind our president as he strives to better Nigeria. Together, let’s press ahead united under our #WEBELIEVE campaign.

It would be unfair of me here if I fail to acknowledge and appreciate the overwhelming support from international organizations and community, a lot have reached out and I am completely dazed by it all.

My nomination may have been withdrawn, but my hope is unwavering. As I have often stated, “Hope is not lost; maybe I will come back again.” This phase of my life has instilled in me a deeper sense of resilience, faith, and the value of service beyond titles and positions. It has reaffirmed my belief in the potential for change and in the inherent greatness of Nigeria. The dream is still alive, and my commitment to our nation remains steadfast.

As we move forward, I pray for the good health and strength to our President Baba Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his Vice President, Sen. Kashim Shettima.

May Allah continue to bless our great nation, The Federal Republic of Nigeria! #webelieve!🇳🇬

NB: I would like my supporters to know that this is my only verified source of interaction on social media and should be wary of cloned accounts bearing my name. Thank you and God Bless.

Dr Maryam Shetty

FORENSIC AUDIT OF CBN UNDERWAY AS WE WIN BACK INVESTOR CONFIDENCE, PRESIDENT TINUBU TELLS WORLD BANK CHIEF

President Bola Tinubu says a comprehensive forensic audit of the Central Bank is underway, while a thorough overhaul of the Civil Service payroll is imminent.

The President disclosed this during an audience with the President of the World Bank, Mr. Ajay Banga on Friday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

''A comprehensive forensic audit is on-going at the Central Bank. We are going to do very serious structural review of the Civil Service payroll. I can't believe in the numbers I'm seeing and I’ve had that experience before at the state level.

''The reforms are in tandem with Nigeria's Ease of Doing Business programme. We'll block all financial loopholes. The reforms will be targeted at the way we work, change of attitude and equally on educating our people. It’s costly but we will do it,'' he said.

Highlighting Nigeria’s resilience and intellectual prowess, the President implored the Bretton Woods institution to view the country as a significant player within the global community, not solely as a struggling economy.

‘‘We stand as a vibrant and educated society, seeking to avert chaos through strategic interventions. Your proactive engagement aligns with our quest for partnership, and together, we shall pursue mutual benefits that enrich us all,’’ he said.

On poverty alleviation, the President called for more increased support from the World Bank, expressing optimism for a productive collaboration between Nigeria and the World Bank that will lead to mutual benefits and sustainable progress.

He also discussed the ongoing efforts to address issues such as subsidy removal, foreign exchange mismanagement, exchange rates, inflation, liquidity, and debt management.

President Tinubu also shared insights into his administration's substantial reforms, including those aimed at consolidating improvements in Nigeria's oil industry, enhancing the Ease of Doing Business, and prioritizing security to boost the country's revenue generation.

The President pointed out the importance of electricity generation for economic development, highlighting the turning of sod earlier today on the first phase (350MW) of the 1,350MW power generation project in Gwagwalada, Abuja.

The President explained that this project signifies the administration's commitment to a comprehensive approach, which encompasses power generation, distribution, energy transition, and tariff adjustments.

While calling for a positive partnership with the World Bank, President Tinubu emphasized key areas of focus, including job creation, digitization, and National Identity Management.

He also requested the World Bank's support in addressing the challenges posed by the removal of cross-sectoral subsidies, particularly in lessening the impact on less privileged Nigerians.

In his remarks, Mr. Banga commended President Tinubu for his efforts in addressing the economic challenges of the country.

''Yes, we give money and our dollars are very important but where we are really helpful is our expertise and knowledge and our experience from many markets. In that way, we will always be your friend and partner, not just with the money, but with our minds and our hearts and you should be rest assured about that.''

Ajuri Ngelale
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
August 4, 2023

NPC Update

Yesterday, the popular Hausa music star, Dauda Kahutu Rarara visited the Commission and was received by the Census Manager, Dr. Inuwa Jalingo at the NPC’s Headquarters in Abuja.

The northern Nigerian singer seeks to collaborate with the Commission in creating awareness for the upcoming 2023 Population and Housing Census.

This is a result of the NPC's strategic engagement with key stakeholders across the country to solicit their support in the sensitization and mobilization of the masses for the forthcoming census exercise.

The Commission is ready and waiting for Mr. President to fix a new date for the conduct of the first digital census in Nigeria that will provide the country with verifiable and up-to-date data for evidence-based planning and development.

#YouCountBeCounted

National Population Commission Partners with Women in Renewable Energy Association to Green 2023 Census

The National Population Commission (NPC) today announced a partnership with the Women in Renewable Energy Association (WIRE-A) to green the upcoming 2023 Population and Housing Census.

The partnership aims to make the census climate-responsive by capturing climate-relevant quantitative information at household levels. This information will provide primary data on the impacts of climate change on Nigerian households and vice-versa.

“We are excited to partner with WIRE-A to green the 2023 census,” said Hon. Nasir Isa Kwarra, fnsa, Chairman of the NPC. “This partnership will help us to collect valuable data on the impacts of climate change on Nigerian households, which will be essential for informing climate adaptation and mitigation policies.”

Moji Makonjuola, MFR, North Central Regional Coordinator of WIRE-A, said, “We are pleased to partner with the NPC on this important initiative. We believe that the Green Census Initiative will help to make the census more inclusive and responsive to the needs of all Nigerians.”

The Green Census Initiative is part of the NPC’s commitment to making the 2023 census a more sustainable and environmentally friendly event. The initiative will use digital technology to reduce the use of paper and other resources, and it will also promote the use of renewable energy sources during the census.

The 2023 Population and Housing Census is scheduled to take place in 2023. The census is a critical tool for planning and development, and it will help to ensure that Nigeria’s resources are used in a fair and equitable manner.

The partnership between the NPC and WIRE-A is a significant step forward in the effort to green the 2023 census. The initiative will help to make the census more inclusive, sustainable, and responsive to the needs of all Nigerians.

https://achimenet./2023/08/02/national-population-commission-partners-with-women-in-renewable-energy-association-to-green-2023-census/

TINUBU’S PALLIATIVE PLAN: ONLY CENSUS DATA WILL REVEAL REAL POOR NIGERIANS

By Stanley Nwosu

The announcement by the Federal Government and subsequent approval by the National Assembly of the request to share N500 billion palliatives to poor and vulnerable households in Nigeria in order to cushion the adverse effect of the recent removal of fuel subsidy has continued to generate reactions on social and mainstream media as Nigerians continue to question its adequacy, mode of disbursement and sustainability. Aside from the fact that the N8,000 monthly disbursement to 12 million households for a period of six months will not make any meaningful impact on the lives of these Nigerians, many people have also expressed concerns and worries as to whether the money will get to the real beneficiaries and not end up in the private pockets of privileged people, considering the dearth of credible and up-to-date data in the country and lack of transparency that trail disbursement of palliatives in Nigeria.

Accurate data is a very scarce commodity in Nigeria. Data credibility and integrity is also a big issue in the country. The country has been relying on estimated figures since the last Population and Housing Census in Nigeria over 17 years ago. There is no comprehensive, reliable and verifiable database of poor and vulnerable people in the country which only census data can provide. The country has relied on the National Social Register (NSR) of poor and vulnerable households in Nigeria developed by the National Social Safety-nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO) for its social intervention programmes. As of April 2023, NASSCO has been able to enlist 15,724,871 households and 62,792,794 individuals into the NSR database. The number of the enumerated poor and vulnerable individuals in the National Social Register falls far below over 133 million people who are multidimensionally poor in Nigeria. That means that the number of poor Nigerians outside the register is more than those included in the register. Many poor Nigerians have been excluded from benefiting from palliatives. It’s also worrisome that only 17% of the individuals in the NSR have bank accounts while just 25% of them have valid means of identification. What it means is that only a small percentage of the poor citizens in the social register can be tracked with their identification number or bank verification number to ascertain whether they truly exist or fictitious names. Without verifiable means of identification of the vulnerable Nigerians, the social register will be susceptible to manipulation.

Although, NASSCO stated that it used a targeting and identification mechanism to build the National Social Register but the limited scope and inability to verify and track those individuals on the register makes it difficult to trust and rely on the database for planning.

The lack of a credible and unified database of the poor and vulnerable Nigerians affected the effective implementation of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) introduced by former president Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. The Buhari government introduced a Conditional Cash Transfer programme of N5,000 monthly grants to poor and vulnerable households, the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), N-Power etc to empower the unemployed youth and women and reduced poverty in the country but unfortunately the laudable projects failed to create the desired impact in improving the quality of lives of the poor and vulnerable Nigerians. Monthly, billions of naira were mapped out for these social investment programmes but the identity of the majority of the beneficiaries remains unknown to most Nigerians as everyone kept on asking who are the beneficiaries.

The Senate Public Account Committee while probing the N52 billion Special Public Works Programme coordinated by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) to recruit 1,000 young Nigerians from each of the 774 LGAs for three months and pay them N20,000 each in 2020 demanded a list of the 774,000 Nigerian beneficiaries of the programme after some of its members disclosed that none of their constituents benefited from the programme. It then beats the imaginations of many to wonder about the database used for these intervention programmes, if senators could not identify their constituents among the beneficiaries.

No wonder that despite the efforts of the former President Muhammadu Buhari administration to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in ten years but ended up plunging more Nigerians into poverty. The last administration met 60 million poor Nigerians upon the assumption of office in 2015 but left when the numbers increased to over 90 million. The numbers have increased further as the World Bank disclosed that no fewer than four million Nigerians were pushed into the poverty trap in the first six months of this year, with another 7.1 million more expected to join the conundrum if properly targeted measures are not taken to manage the impact of fuel subsidy removal.

Even the recent decision of the National Economic Council led by Vice President, Sen. Kashim Shettima to jettison the National Social Register for State Social Registers due to lack of credibility and reliability does not make any difference as the State Registers are a component of the NSR. If the NSR fails the data integrity test, it means State Registers will fail too. The only difference is that the disbursement of the palliatives will be done by the State Governments instead of the Federal Government.

Planning relies basically on data. The importance of planning with credible data to both an individual and a nation cannot be overemphasized in order to make efficient use of limited available resources for maximal satisfaction. Indeed, census data is the solution to the myriad of developmental challenges facing the county.

No country relies solely on its estimated population because such estimates ignore the demographics unearthed by census data which are needed for national planning purposes. A national population census, in addition to determining the actual number of people, also gives us important data on the distribution of the population by age, sex, location, household characteristics and socio-economic strata among others. This detailed information is critical to national planning and development. A country that doesn't know its true population would definitely not be in a position to determine the actual number of its poor citizens.

To get comprehensive, up-to-date and reliable data for the disbursement of palliative to the poorest households and other national development planning, the Federal Government should as a matter of urgency fix a date for the National Population Commission to complete the Population and Housing Census exercise that was postponed by the previous administration.

The 2023 Census will be the first fully digital census in the history of Nigeria. NPC has introduced innovative digital technology to be used in the entire census process starting from the Enumeration Area Demarcation to pretesting of tools, recruitment, data quality management, monitoring & evaluation, project management, communications, main data collection, fieldwork monitoring and dissemination of census data.

The forthcoming census will be the first time the whole population and housing units in the country will be geocoded. It means that the 2023 Census will provide verifiable data on the Nigerian population and link each person to a location. Before now and as part of the preparatory activities for the upcoming census, the National Population Commission has successfully conducted Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD) in the 774 LGAs and in the process captured all buildings in Nigeria with their geo-coordinates using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology. NPC has also collaborated with NIPOST to create a proper digital addressing system in the country using the EAD geospatial dataset of all buildings in Nigeria. So, the census exercise will be to enumerate every person in Nigeria and link them to a particular building or location. With that information, tracking, identifying and planning for the citizens will be easy.

In addition, the census will canvass questions on the economic characteristics of the respondents to reveal their employment status and type of economic activities done in the last 7 days preceding the census night, and the housing characteristics and amenities to collect information on their type of buildings, construction materials used for the buildings, number of sleeping rooms, ownership status, tenure status of the households living in the buildings, source of drinking water, type of lighting and cooking fuel, and other household assets.

Questions will also be asked on housing sanitation to generate information on the type and sharing status of toilet facilities and other sanitation measures; difficulty in performing activities to ascertain the number of persons living with disabilities; Information Communication Technology to collect information on ICT devices owned and access to internet facility; literacy and education characteristics; internal migration; fertility and child survival status; survival status of the parents; demographic background and social characteristics; the impact of climate change as well as other thematic areas.

With the detailed information, the 2023 Population and Housing Census will not only provide a credible and verifiable database of the poor and vulnerable Nigerians but also where they live. Sharing of palliatives with this correct census data of the vulnerable households will help the governments to target the right beneficiaries and create the necessary impact of uplifting these poor Nigerians.

President Tinubu should as a matter of urgency prioritise conducting the upcoming Population and Housing Census and use the census data as the foundational guide for evidence-based planning and implementation of his administration's renewed hope agenda.

©️ Stanley O. Nwosu, a writer, image maker, photo journalist, public affairs analyst, and political economist, is the NPC Social Media Manager

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0FcszwWR4fEw5YTHx67bXfD2D1qaGCQJA9d1LtL9VMvW6vyNMRNyYic6krrJ12jW7l&id=100001429169012&mibextid=Nif5oz

NATIONAL POPULATION COMMISSION NPC TREATS PERSONAL INFORMATION VERY CONFIDENTIAL.

~ Hon. Bala Almu-Banye
Honorable Commissioner, Representing Katsina State.

The National Population Commission (NPC) has assured households that all their personal information which they would give to enumerators during the forthcoming population and housing census would be strictly confidential.

The Federal Commissioner representing Katsina State, Mr. Bala Almu-Banye, made the disclosure at a meeting with media executives in the state, on Wednesday in Katsina.

Almu-Banye said that the purpose of the meeting was to update them on the status of the preparations for the 2023 Census and the next steps forward.

He said that the commission had recruited adequate ad hoc staff for effective coverage of all the nooks and crannies of the entire state during the exercise.

According to him, the ad hoc staff are to work in their local governments of residence in order to achieve the set targets.

The Federal Commissioner, therefore, urged residents to cooperate with the enumerators and provide answers to the questions raised.

“The information will be treated as confidential and only for the purpose of the exercise.
“We were all sworn not to reveal people’s secrets, likewise, all the enumerators and supervisors will take oath before they start the exercise,” he said.

He further said that the information given to the enumerators would be digitally transmitted directly to the commission’s server through the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), which is a machine like a mobile phone.

Almu-Banye further said that the NPC would work with traditional and community leaders to ensure that people who reside in hard-to-reach areas were counted.

He explained that such leaders would provide guides who would assist enumerators in reaching people in remote communities.

Responding on behalf of the media executives, the General Manager, Gram FM, Alhaji Bashir Ahmed, thanked the commission for carrying them along in the exercise.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0P49aTffZba3xmQKLFYREUbW2hJvhBXU9UPEs964zaF4w4RRW5MZ1iiZvmet6ND9Rl&id=100001429169012&mibextid=Nif5oz

https://achimenet./2023/07/20/the-national-population-commission-npc-treats-personal-information-very-confidential/

TONY OKOCHA DID NOT WORK FOR TINUBU IN RIVERS STATE


Ordinarily I wouldn't join issues with a treacherous character like Tony Okocha, but as a member of the ICC Rivers State, it is important to set the records straight.


Let me first buttress without equivocation of any kind to the reading public that Senator Magnus Abe is not in any contest with anyone over any political favour or contest for any ministerial position.


Secondly, Senator Magnus Abe is not in any form of contest with one Tony Okocha, the said Tony Okocha has a problem with himself and he is looking for a prominent personality for him to straddle on to gain relevance and also meet up with the task given to him by his sponsor Gov. Wike, but unfortunately, he met the wrong person.


It would be an insult for anyone to expect that Senator Abe responds to Tony Okocha, (shoe get size), and there is a big gap between the both persons. By political standards and in all ramifications, Tony is not and cannot equal himself to Senator Abe. So it is expected that Tony Okocha retraces his steps and immediately desist from further insults on Senator Abe, carried out daily on several WhatsApp groups; he should stop the blackmail and sponsored attacks; he should accord Senator Abe the respect he deserves.


Speaking essentially on ‘who did what’, ‘who worked and who didn't work for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Rivers State’, many groups, individuals, and NGOs laboured and contributed assiduously to the success of the President in the last election and we cannot deny them the sheer contributions they made by only according the victory to one man, we would be ungrateful to do so. There are people who were involved and contributed highly in their different capacities that had not said a word.


Senator Magnus Abe was the arrow-head and eye of the President in Rivers state and was also a member of the Strategy committee which is the apex team of Asiwaju presidential campaign and elections. It was this same team that planned and executed the strategies that saw to the victory of President Tinubu at the presidential primaries. The strategy team was also behind the scene, the most strategic team of President Tinubu's election, everything that has to do with the campaign council was ratified and concluded by this same strategy committee and Senator Abe was and is still a member of that committee till date.


So for anyone to come up today to say Senator Abe didn't work for Tinubu spells how cheap and bereft that person is, it speaks ill of the character and personality of such a person and I will advice every reasonable human being to distance himself from such a character.


In Rivers State, the PCC which Tony Okocha was a member never worked or campaigned for President Ahmed Bola Tinubu. It was the ICC which Hon. Austin Wokocha was the State coordinator, that spearheaded the door to door and LGA campaigns of the Presidential candidate of the APC, President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. All 12 or almost all state directors and members, of both ICC and PCC were recommended by Senator Magnus Abe including the treacherous Tony Okocha, who was nominated to head the protocol committee of the ICC, his job was in Abuja and not Rivers State. The chairman or co-ordinator of ICC and DG is not Chief Tony, Tony only headed the LOC of the presidential campaign in Rivers State in which we came together and made him the head because we were still believing that he is member of the Senator Abe’s political family, it was later we discovered that Tony Okocha was on some hideous agenda in which he has been given to execute by then Governor Wike.


Tony Okocha only came associating with the Rivers State Independent Campaign Council when he discovered that President Tinubu’s believe and trust for a victory in Rivers State is pointing towards the ICC and not PCC.


Through my office as Director of Research, Analysis, and Verification, we built the structure used in Rivers State and Chief Tony never knew about it, whatever we did, everything ends at the table of Senator Abe. Senator Magnus Has his foot soldiers on ground working for President Tinubu in Rivers State day and night, he was receiving reports on the progress recorded on daily basis and also pushing for other areas not covered, releasing funds and logistics.


Senator Magnus Abe's support for Asiwaju cannot be limited to only Rivers State, he was instrumental to the different sectors and areas of President Tinubu's elections, he was the face of Senator Bola Tinubu in Rivers even when he was contesting elections.


When it became a big issue for anyone to talk about the muslim-muslim ticket especially here in the South, Senator Abe took to national TV stations discussing the competence of both the President and Vice President and giving reasons why Nigerians shouldn't jettison the duo because of religious reasons.


It is petty for someone like Tony Okocha who was nominated into everything he was in Asiwaju campaign to turn a three hundred and sixty degree in attempt to hoodwink the public into believing that: someone who never carried out any public event for Asiwaju, never spoke good about the president in any public space, but was rather instrumental in instigating Nigerians against Asiwaju on the muslim-muslim ticket, and over the continuation of the good works of former President Buhari, is now the only person who worked for President Tinubu in Rivers State, I think Tony Okocha needs to go for a psychiatric evaluation.

The said Tony, when he collected billions of naira from former governor Wike, abandoned all that concerned Tinubu and the presidential elections and was busy with campaigns for SIM Fubara the then PDP guber candidate. The ‘amalgamated group’ he parades that it was for the interest of Asiwaju is one of the biggest lies of the century by Tony Okocha, it was the group he created to cash out from former governor Wike, in the name of giving the former governors candidate in the state support from the APC. It was never a group for the interest of President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

I want to challenge Tony Okocha now, to show the public a video of himself campaigning for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Rivers State aside the many campaigns organized by Senator Magnus Abe in which he attended, let him show us or forever keep quiet on these issues.


Gbarabe Lennox D.
Director Data Research, Analysis and Verification Tinubu/Shettima ICC, Rivers State.

STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE

REVIEW OF N8, 000 CASH TRANSFER

You will agree with me that it has become part of the culture of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to constantly dialogue with Nigerians who voted him into office. The President covenanted with Nigerians that their welfare and security will be topmost in the Renewed Hope Agenda of his government.

In the last few days, the conventional and new media platforms have become awash with stories of the government intending to embark on conditional cash transfer to vulnerable households mostly affected by the painful but necessary decision to remove subsidy from petrol.

The story has been widely reported that the Federal Government is proposing to give 12 million households from the poorest of the poor N8,000 monthly for a period of six months as government palliative to reduce the discomfort being experienced by Nigerians consequent upon subsidy removal.

A lot of ill-informed imputations have been read into the programme by not a few naysayers. The Administration believes in the maxim that when there is prohibition, there must be provision. Since subsidy, the hydra-headed monster threatening to kill the economy, has been stopped, government has emplaced a broad spectrum of reliefs to bring help to Nigerians.

While it should be noted that cash programme is not the only item in the whole gamut of relief package of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as a listening leader who has vowed to always put Nigerians at the heart of his policy and programme, the President has directed as follows:-

1. That the N8,000 conditional cash transfer programmed envisaged to bring succour to most vulnerable households be reviewed immediately. This is in deference to the views expressed by Nigerians against it.

2. That the whole gamut of palliative package of government be unveiled to Nigerians.

3. Immediate release of fertilisers and grains to approximately 50 million farmers and households respectively in all the 36 states and the FCT.

The President further assures Nigerians that the N500 billion approved by parliament to cushion the pain occasioned by the end of subsidy regime will be judiciously utilised. The beneficiaries of the reliefs shall be Nigerians irrespective of their ethnic, religious or political affiliation.

President Bola Tinubu has promised to always prioritize the wellbeing of Nigerians and he is irrevocably committed to the vow. A number of decisions taken so far by this Administration have buttressed this stance.

You will recall that the President took a similar decision after listening to complaints from the business community/stakeholders about burdensome taxes, particularly multiplicity of taxes they are made to experience. This warranted the signing of four (4) Executive Orders cancelling some classes of taxes, while suspending the implementation dates of others.

In addition, the President has also set up a Tax Reform/Fiscal Policy Committee to bring up recommendations that will engender a wholesome fiscal environment for the country and remove anti-business barriers.

I wish to assure Nigerians that President Tinubu will continue to be a listening leader whose ears will not be dull to the views expressed by the citizenry. The President believes government exists to cater for the interest of the people and he has demonstrated this so clearly.

Thank you all.



Dele Alake

Special Adviser to the President

(Special Duties, Communications and Strategy)

July 18, 2023

AS TONY OKOCHA AND HIS SPONSOR’S DESPERATION REACHES A CRESCENDO

At this juncture, it’s only reasonable for the sponsor of Tony Okocha to pause and do a thorough reassessment to ascertain if there is any value for the humongous sums of money he has frittered away, even as desperation for the ignoble role the villain was assigned is reaching an eerie crescendo.

This has become necessary because Tony Okocha, totally bereft of ideas, has bungled his devious assignment, which from the beginning was always going to be an exorbitant voyage to nowhere.

In the weird and delusional thinking that members of the public are uniquely moronic and afflicted with strange amnesia, yesterday Tony gathered some hapless chaps from four LGAs of the twenty three in Rivers State to posture as members of the “forum of SDP LGA chairmen”in Rivers State for purposes of abusing Senator Magnus Ngei Abe while desperately campaigning for Wike to be made minister from Rivers State by President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Amusingly, the four hapless chaps, lead by one spineless Gogo Williams R. Jaja from Opobo-Nkoro, had, only about five months ago, huddled themselves at a corner in the sitting room of Bro Felix Abuah, former Rivers PDP Chairman in a scene reminiscent of Victorian melodrama, to sheepishly announce their defection to the PDP.

These are the same young men who yesterday issued a grammar-murdering, disjointed and utterly despicable statement in which they postured to be forum of SDP state chairmen in Rivers State. What an abracadabra!

Drained of honour and character, and having lost their self worth in the misguided pursuit a piece of porridge, these young men have estranged themselves of basic shame that should define the lives of normal human beings. Those are the roguish characters Tony Okocha is parading in the fraudulent world he has created for himself, in the mistaken belief that the rest of us suffer from amnesia.

As if the fraudulent orchestration above was not reprehensible enough, the other day, Tony Okocha gathered some marijuana-smoking nonentities in his house, invited the media and said that Rivers APC was calling on President Tinubu to give the Rivers ministerial slot to Nyesom Wike.

Surprisingly, the media, probably because of heavy inducement, did not ask questions. They just copied and pasted in their media platforms the grand deceit of Tony Okocha to hoodwink the public.

That is what the dishonorable Tony is about. He is so shameless that in the blindness of his greed and inordinate quest for material things, he has created for himself a delusional world of inanities where he is the champion of the jejune. And he has no qualms for any absurdity provided he smiles to the bank.

Tony has so bungled the odious assignment that his Rumuiprikom pay master gave him that he should be arrested to make refunds. From the absurd to the ridiculous, he has exposed the underbelly of his sponsor as a desperate man who can do anything to remain in power, no matter how utterly repugnant his methods.

Gathering young men who only five months ago announced their defection to PDP to speak to and posture as SDP chairmen to campaign for Wike’s ministerial appointment while blackmail Senator Abe shows that Tony has come full circle of ignominy.

BENEFITS OF POPULATION CENSUS OUTWEIGH EXPENSES - NPC

The Federal Commissioner representing Cross River state on the board of the National Population Commission, NPC, Navy Capt. Charles Ogwa has expressed the view that the advantages of conducting the postponed population and housing census far exceed its expenses.

The Commissioner made this statement during a breakfast meeting with media executives in Calabar on Friday.

Ogwa emphasised that census data serves crucial purposes in economic planning, national security, and all aspects of national life.

He added that it would aid the government in economic planning, believing the data collected from the digital census has the potential to generate substantial funds.

“International organizations and corporate entities often rely on census data to determine where to direct their assistance,” he claimed.

“The national security agencies also use census data for security purposes because every EA is geo-referenced with coordinates. Census data could be used for massive research, so the benefits are enormous and outweigh the cost of conducting it.”

Ogwa expressed confidence that the administration led by President Bola Tinubu would ensure the successful implementation of the census within the shortest possible timeframe.

He further revealed that the necessary workforce, including data quality managers, monitors and evaluators, administrators, and managers, has been recruited and trained.

The Federal Commissioner said they are currently on standby as the outstanding training is focused on enumerators and supervisors.

“We have recruited and trained our workforce, including data quality managers, monitors and evaluators, administrators, and managers. They are on stand-by. The outstanding training is for enumerators and supervisors."

“The immediate past government, in its wisdom, postponed the population and housing census so that it would come up after the elections matter would have been completed."

"The second reason was that since the in-coming government will be the major user of data generated from the exercise, it would be better for it to have a serious input so as to own up the census."

https://achimenet./2023/07/17/benefits-of-census-outweigh-expenses-npc/

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid01RDJ3QAifU2eD7gauLXaxxM54weuyE6N5hGfVVDMnCEHe1CkzaceaqZKobEH4NNzl&id=100001429169012&mibextid=Nif5oz

THE TRUTH WILL SURELY CATCH UP WITH YOUR CHRONIC LIES AGAINST RIVERS APC

The attention of the Rivers State chapter of the APC has been drawn to another round of fabrication by one Mr Tony Okocha, a self-appointed lobbyist for the immediate past governor of Rivers State, Mr Nyesom Wike.

We have always known this individual as an unrepentant blue-blood merchant of falsehood who is drowning in the ocean of his unenviable track record of applying textbook subterfuge to achieve very ignoble aims.

May we put this on record that APC in Rivers State did not and could not have received any form of financial support from Mr Nyesom Wike for the 6868 polling agents of APC given the very opposite ideological and moral beliefs of both parties. Do we now start interpreting this arrant nonsense to mean that Mr Wike paid the polling agents of all 18 political parties in Rivers State?

We however take this piece of information supplied by Mr Tony Okocha as a confirmation of the fact that he successfully scammed Mr Wike of part of the resources of our state which were looted while the later held sway as Chief Executive of Rivers State. It also has justified our alarms over the years that the treasury of the state was made available to Mr Wike and no system existed to check him.

We are however marvelled at the mastery of the art of deceit for a non-APC member to have successfully obtained millions of naira from the then Governor without the detection of the fraudulent intent since the list of party agents compiled and submitted to the INEC by the party is only known to the Secretariat of the party and INEC. We challenge these purveyors of lies to publish transaction details of such support to APC in Rivers State or forever bury their heads in perpetual shame.

We are totally at a loss as to why Mr Wike will keep passing through his hirelings to make unsubstantiated claims of funding our party, whereas the likes of Tein Jackrich who made generous donations in cash and functional office spaces to the President's campaigns have not made any noise about his contributions.

We reaffirm our earlier position that sponsoring sordid stories cloaked as blackmail against Rivers State chapter of the APC shall not in any way hand the party's Ministerial slot to Mr Nyesom Wike who in 2015 invented a judicial panel report/white paper, sponsored minions to the National Assembly Committee on Ethics/Privileges and orchestrated bad press against His Excellency Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi CON just to stop his Ministerial appointment.

Finally, it is only an ignoramus that will believe the cesspit of lies being told by the likes of Okocha as we have always believed that NO MATTER HOW FAST HIS LIES TRAVEL, THE TRUTH MUST SURELY CATCH UP WITH IT.

Signed:
Darlington Nwauju
Rivers State APC Spokesman
11th July 2023

Cabinet: Multiple Lists In Circulation As Tinubu’s 14-day Deadline Closes

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has 14 more days to unveil his cabinet in line with the o Amendment to the Constitution.

The amendment mandates presidents and governors to submit the names of their ministerial and commissioner-nominees within 60 days of taking the oath of office.

Ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s six-month delay to appoint ministers in 2015 had triggered this amendment.

Tinubu, who assumed office on May 29, 2023, has up till July 27, 2023 to unveil his cabinet.

During the three weeks recess of the National Assembly, there were reports that Tinubu would transmit the ministerial list to the lawmakers immediately they resume plenary, but that was not the case.

According to reports, the list is currently being scrutinised by the Department of State Services (DSS) and anti-graft agencies.

However, different lists are currently in circulation.

On one list, Uzoma Emenike from Abia was named as Foreign Affairs while Buba Marwa from Adamawa was named Interior Minister.

Ben Akabueze from Anambra was penned down as Minister of Budget & National Planning while Yekini Nabena from Bayelsa was listed as the Minister of Water Resources.

Akinwunmi Ambode from Lagos was listed as Minister of Works and Housing, while Lt Gen Tukur Buratai (rtd) (Defence).

But on another list, Tokunbo Abiru from Lagos was listed as Finance Minister, while Kayode Fayemi from Ekiti was listed as Foreign Affairs Minister.

But while addressing governors of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, National Chairman of the party, said Tinubu was consulting extensively on the ministerial list.

“The president has just started. And he is doing his extensive consultation before coming up with his nominees for ministers. The nomination of the ministers will come first. They will go through their screening until they are pronounced after they have been submitted by Mr. President. And Mr President will formally appoint his Ministers and swear them in. Only after doing that will he disclose each of them to the country to know which Minister is going to which ministry, and how many ministries we are going to have,” he had said.

Before then, Dele Alake, Presidential spokesman, had described the lists in circulation as “mere fabrications”.

“About the ministerial list, the simple truth is that, you know, this is an executive presidency, we’re not running a parliamentary system. So the president, the bucks stops on his table, and he decides when it is fit and proper for him to make his cabinet list public.”

“So, we are not unaware of all the speculations, and innuendos and rumours, all kinds of things in the media. Now, I as a media man, I chuckled to myself that people just want to sell, so they just fabricate.

“I can tell you all of those things you’ve been reading in the media are mere fabrications. There is no iota of truth in all of those things. When the president is good and ready, you will be the first to know about his intentions,” he had said.

Before Tinubu took office, Alake, who was part of his strategic team had said a month was enough for Tinubu to form his cabinet.

“It didn’t take Asiwaju more than three weeks to form his cabinet as governor. That was at that time. I think 60 days is even too much. A month, maximum, is enough for any serious government to form its cabinet and put a structure of government in place after the swearing-in,” he had said.

Also, the then Director of Media and Publicity for the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga, had given assurance that Tinubu’s cabinet would be ready within a month of the president’s inauguration.

LET THE RECORD BE STRAIGHT, AGAINST THE TREACHERY

Mr. Gideon Wogu has longed left SDP to join his pay master Mr. Tony Okocha on before the 2023 general election.

Mr. Gideon Wogu upon his then chairman of SDP Obio/Akpor LGA, he never contributed any ideal or lime light to the party. Always relying on what Chief. Tony Okocha said.

He left the party when he saw that the party was not ready to tolerate his dubious and fraudulent lifestyle.

He is always ready to misappropriate any available funds meant for the party without any remorse.

Mr. Gideon Wogu as a then SDP chairman Obio/Akpor LGA, couldn’t covert any one from his ward/chapter (ward 7 Rumuagholu community Obio/Akpor) to the party aside one Mr. Rex Nworgu who was desperately imposed to be the then legal adviser of the party against the wish of the majority Bar. Stanley Orlu from Ward 17 Obio/Akpor LGA.

Mr. Gideon Wogu is a cheap politician always ready to conspire anyone for his selfish interest.

Mr. Gideon and co are political tools of the former Governor of Rivers State, Gov. Nyesom Wike employed to ridicule the name and effort our Principal, His Excellency, Sen. Magnus Ngei Abe who contributed immensely to the process, progress and victory of His Excellency, President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to be so elected the president of the federal republic of Nigeria in the last general election.

Although, their campaign of calumny against Distinguished Senator Magnus Abe has already failed, very spectacularly. God Almighty will continue to disgrace them very shamefully across the media on their smear media campaign against the person of a decent, consistent, and progressive Nationalist.

Mr. Gideon Wogu” and his cohorts are sycophants seeking for political relevance by passing mischievous information to the media spaces.

The SDP family in Obio/Akpor LGA, has only one Party Chairman in person of Amb. Charles Obisike.

Any further attempt by Mr. Gideon Wogu, parading himself as Obio/Akpor SDP chairman, the leadership of the Party will take a legal action against him. He will face the law as impersonator.

Sen. Magnus Ngei Abe deserve a cabinet ministerial appointment of the federal republic of Nigeria in administration of President Tinubu.

SMA has remained the first Rivers Politician to bring home the message of Bola Ahmed Tinubu for President when it seemed unthinkable and silly to do so, at the time when two Rivers men were vying for the same office under APC and PDP respectively.


Singed✍️
OBIO/AKPOR SDP MEDIA TEAM.

https://achimenet./2023/07/13/setting-the-record-straight-against-the-treachery/

Commemoration of the 2023 World Population Day at the Rockview Hotel, Abuja today - 11th July 2023.

World Population Day is part of an international awareness campaign celebrated annually to beam global attention to the current population trends impacting the world. It brings to the front burner the urgency and importance of global population issues and the necessity to address the challenges posed by sustained global population growth and demographic-related issues.

This year’s world population day buttresses the positive impact of SDG5 with the theme “Unleashing the power of gender equality: Uplifting the voices of women and girls to unlock our world’s infinite possibilities”

This female group which constitutes almost half of the Nigerian population is often neglected across all societies and communities and not accorded the deserved attention which makes them experience limited access to opportunities.

As we grow in our numbers, it is important to create a balance by uplifting the voices of women and girls in society. Bridging the current gender gap in Nigeria will encourage a drastic socioeconomic transformation.

The world population can increase but the world can only get better when we harness the powers of gender mainstreamism.

HAPPY WORLD POPULATION DAY from all of us at the National Population Commission.

#WPD2023
#SDG5
#LeaveNoOneBehind

https://twitter.com/achimenee/status/1679044643579731968?t=Yu8B38Vf2boIeVcgZ-hWaQ&s=19

https://achimenet./2023/07/12/commemoration-of-the-2023-world-population-day-at-the-rockview-hotel-abuja-today-11th-july-2023/

OPINION
National Census, NPC and HURIWA’s blunder
~Chekwube Nzomiwu

The Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) is one non-governmental organisation no longer taken seriously in Nigeria because of its frequent outrageous and juvenile interventions in public discourse. However, in public interest, I am constrained to comment on the recent statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, asking President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to scrap the National Population Commission (NPC).

In the statement published in some national newspapers, Onwubiko tackled the NPC National Chairman, Nasir Isa Kwarra, for pushing tirelessly for the national census, which he “ignorantly” described as an already failed exercise without any economic advantage to Nigerians, after gulping N100bn taxpayer’s fund.

The self styled writer cum activist also questioned the existence of NPC when its functions are already being performed by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) through the registration of National Identification Numbers (NIN) for each individual, which is now being linked to bank accounts, passports, and even the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB). In his words, “NPC is a waste and a duplication of what Nigeria already has achieved through the various registration of citizens, carried out by different agencies, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”

Onwubiko did not end there, but went further to suggest the abolition of NPC through a constitutional amendment process in order to collapse NIMC and other data collection agencies into small presidential commission on national identity for identity management, adding that all hospitals where births and deaths are recorded, should be incorporated in the national identity management mechanism to determine the exact population of Nigeria.

Since other spurious assertions he made in the statement may not serve any useful purposes in this article, our attention here will focus on his call for scrapping of the NPC, which from every indication, was borne out of little or no awareness and understanding of the constitutional functions of the commission.

The NPC is one of the 14 “Federal Executive Bodies” established by Section 153 of the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). Section 213 of the constitution saddles the commission with the responsibility of conducting National Population Census. As provided in the Third Schedule, Part 1 of the Constitution, the Commission comprises the Chairman and a member from each state of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Apart from undertaking periodic enumeration of population through sample surveys, censuses or otherwise, it advises the president on population matters and carries out continuous and universal registration of births and deaths throughout the federation. Its functions also include publishing and providing information and data on population for the purpose of facilitating economic and development planning, among others.

Unlike NIMC, a parastatal of the federal government with only the mandate to establish, own, operate, maintain and manage the National Identity Data Base in Nigeria, register persons covered by its establishment Act (NIMC Act No.23 of 2007), assign NIN and issue General Multi-Purpose Cards for only Nigerians above 15 years, the NPC conducts National Census for everyone resident in Nigeria at the time of the exercise, including non-Nigerians, internally displaced persons and homeless people.

As the backbone of the national statistical system, the census provides information on the size, location and characteristics of the population. While it may take a whole book to enumerate all the benefits of population census, a few will suffice here. For example, planners need population information for all kinds of development work, including assessing demographic trends and analyzing socio-economic trends and economic conditions.

Census data are also vital for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of policies, tracking progress towards national and international agreed development plans, designing evidence based poverty reduction strategies and empowering local communities by providing them with information to participate in decision making and ensuring effective representation.

Besides, data generated from census are deployed for academic research and feasibility studies by Research and Development (R&D) departments of companies and corporate organizations, for promotions, programmes and projects.

Curiously, I am quite surprised that human rights writers do not even consider census a matter of civil rights, taking into account its constitutional backing. Nigeria practices representative democracy and population is a constitutional prerequisite for the creation of federal constituencies, which constitute a critical basis of representation in the country. Despite several resolutions by both Chambers of the National Assembly-Senate and House of Representatives- asking the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the body saddled with this responsibility to create new federal constituencies, to do so in line with Section 73 (1) of the Constitution, the electoral umpire has not done so, often using the prolonged non-conduct of population census as an excuse.

Considering aforementioned reasons, the Chairman of the NPC should be praised and not heckled by Onwubiko, for pushing tirelessly for the census to hold. It is perhaps only an uneducated person that could share the opinion that an exercise as important as the 2023 Digital National Population and Housing Census “is a money guzzling scheme that yields no economic benefits for Nigerians.” The census is neither needless nor is it a tea party. It is not by happenstance that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) described the census as “the most expensive data collection activity a country can undertake, involving thousands of workers and millions of dollars of cost.”

Regarding the amount so far expended by NPC, I don’t know how and where Onwubiko got his figures (N100bn), since I am not a member of the commission. However, I am aware that the United States of America with about 131 million households spent about $14.2bn on its 2020 census. If we should rely on HURIWA’s figures, Nigeria with 43 million households has only spent about a quarter of $1bn on the same census exercise. So, I leave the remaining calculation for Nigerians, especially “blind and dumb” critics like Onwubiko, to do.

The preparation for the 2023 Census in Nigeria did not start today or yesterday. Before now, the NPC implemented all the preparatory activities towards the census, such as the Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD), conduct of pre-test and trial census, recruitment and training of census field staff, procurement and configuration of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and establishment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure across the country. Advocacy and publicity campaigns have been ongoing.

In the preparation, efforts were channeled, not only towards addressing immediate needs, but also laying a solid foundation for future censuses in the country. For instance, I am aware that the EAD, which involved the division of the country into small land areas, was meticulously undertaken in such a way that only an update will be required for future censuses.

Besides, the census is not a domestic affair. By international convention, a census exercise should be held every ten years. The United Nations recommends a census enumeration at least once every ten years and once every five years for even better data, rather than relying on estimates and projections alone for planning. The last census exercise took place in Nigeria 17 years ago in 2006. Since then, Nigeria has been planning based on population estimates and projections, using outdated data. Contrary to the statement by HURIWA that NPC is duplicating what Nigeria has already, there is no existing current data base, which captures all characteristics of our population.

Every effort to conduct a national census in Nigeria by successive administrations failed until the immediate past administration prioritised it. The exercise would have been conducted in April but for the wise decision of that administration to allow the new administration make inputs in the exercise. Hence, it was wrong of HURIWA to label the 2023 Census a failed exercise. We still have two quarters of the year left and I have severally heard officials of the commission say that 80 percent of the job had been done.

Finally, I intentionally chose to address the call by HURIWA for the abolishment of NPC at the last segment of this article, hoping that my previous submissions must have sensitized HURIWA enough to change its erroneous impression about the commission and the census.

The call by Onwubiko for the scrapping of NPC exposes his shallow knowledge of the functions of the commission. The job of the commission is not only the conduct of census and registration of births and deaths. I still have a voluminous copy of the National Democratic and Health Survey (NDHS) conducted by NPC in 2018. The survey provided statistics on family planning, fertility preferences, maternal healthcare, child health, nutrition of children and women, malaria, HIV/aids attitude and behavior, and adult and maternal mortality. Others are women empowerment and domestic violence, disability, female genital mutilation and marriage and sexual activity.

The survey was implemented by the NPC in collaboration with the National Malaria Elimination programme (NEMP) of the Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria. The funding for the programme was provided by USAID,, Global Fund, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO). This is just a tip of the iceberg.

It is also important to point out that Nigeria is not the only country that has an independent body constitutionally saddled with the responsibility of conducting census. Hence, abolishing the NPC and giving the critical responsibility of census taking to a small presidential commission as he recommended, will amount to a total deviation from the globally acceptable standard.

I will give some examples. In the United Kingdom, census is undertaken decennially (every ten years) by the Office for National Statistics. The last census in United Kingdom was conducted in 2021. In the United States, the Census Bureau also conducts census every ten years, counting every resident in the country. The most recent census in US was conducted in 2020.

In India, the responsibility of conducting the decadal census rests with the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. India conducted its most recent census in 2021. China has the National Bureau of Statistics, responsible for directing national statistical work, administering surveys and conducting censuses. China conducted its last census in 2020, covering all Chinese citizens in mainland China and those living abroad on temporary visa.

Back home in Africa, the organisation of census is not different. In Kenya, census is conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics. Kenya held its most recent National Population and Housing Census in 2019. Ghana, Nigeria’s next door neighbour has the National Statistical Service. Ghana conducted her most recent census last year (2022). Being the Giant of Africa, Nigeria cannot operate below the internationally acceptable standard.

Nzomiwu, a public affairs commentator, writes from Awka, Anambra State.

Happy World Population Day, 2023!

#YouCountBeCounted
#LeaveNoOneBehind
#WPD11/07/2023

https://www.threads.net/t/CukGzw6N49W/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

https://twitter.com/achimenee/status/1678805078231089167?t=fyOVb_qUxzR18rx_Ota94w&s=19

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02vyFgJqr7x8qBCEVcenMjSCzHnNdqcEB5MFGRaMY1p8543aqe95gZHpegwaRUXY7fl&id=100001429169012&mibextid=Nif5oz

NPC PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT

The attention of the National Population Commission (NPC) has been drawn to a fake email message being sent to the public on email and social media that the some applications for the position of Census Ad-hoc Staff have been accepted.

The Commission wishes to inform the general public that it is not undergoing any recruitment exercise for the Census at the moment. Kindly note that NPC has concluded the recruitment of functionaries for the 2023 Census before the exercise was postponed.

Should there be a need for the list of selected candidates to be updated before the Census exercise, it will be announced on the National Media and the NPC Social Media Platforms and website.

We implore Nigerians to disregard the fake email message and avoid falling victim to swindlers.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02iR9diRPag4cdreAWZvgckjsAat2FQiv6HX5z8zG3QbmThL2WbCCr3riKdhNqXnGZl&id=100001429169012&mibextid=Nif5oz

The Two Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Save Nigeria Movement (SNM) and College of Bishops Imams and Clergy Councils (CBICC), have jointly described the recent call by the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) to scrap the National Population Commission (NPC) as misguided comments that fail to recognize the importance of the Commission by law in gathering accurate population data which is essential for effective governance, resource allocation, and planning for the country’s future.

The CSOs which advocate for policy reforms and good governance in a tersely worded press release signed by the duo of Rev. Solomon Semaka and Bishop Abel Kings, the Convener and National Coordinator of SNM and CBICC respectively expressed shock that a supposed credible organisation like HURIWA has decided to ridicule and make a caricature of itself by promoting an incoherent and uninformed narrative against the National Population Commission including accusing the Commission of duplicating the duties of other agencies.

Part of the statement reads, “it is the highest height of ignorance to accuse the NPC of duplicating the duties of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), a sister agency that at best offers limited data for a few Nigerians. To begin with, NPC was established before NIMC so which organisation should be duplicating the other? Is HURIWA in their misguided pontification accusing the National Assemblies that passed the law establishing the NPC and NIMC for not knowing that the two agencies are duplicating themselves? Are they also insinuating that the Heads of States or Presidents that signed the NPC Bills into law were so daft to ignore the so called duplicity of functions? Since when has this come to the fore? “Clearly HURIWA must be out for something else” the statement read.

“HURIWA’s unsolicited counsel smacks of blackmail and cheap attention seeking antics which has become the fashion of the organization” No sane organisation or individual will compare the data captured by other organisations such as NIMC to that which is obtained by NPC in a proper census exercise. Voters data for example is restricted to adults who are 18 years above. NIMC also keeps a database on Nigerians and issue identify cards to eligible Nigerians who apply for same.

“The National Population Commission(NPC) on the other hand is mandated to collate comprehensive individual, demographic and housing data including a continuous record of vital events”

How can these distinct agencies duplicate themselves? “Even advanced countries like the USA, UK, France and so on that keep very strict hospital, electoral and immigration records including a functional Social Security system still conduct periodic censuses”

“Does HURIWA think those countries too are just wasting money? Comprehensive and periodic population census goes beyond simple identity registration or voter registration” NPC census exercise further provides detailed demographic information that is indispensable for policymaking, urban planning, infrastructure development, and public service provision and must not be politicised”.

The CSOs maintained that, in deviating from their mandate, HURIWA has constituted itself into an attack dog and a tool in the hands of opposition elements”

The Commission under the current leadership has judiciously used every resources allocated to it in preparation for the conduct of a national census with impressive results so far for all to see and given the Commission’s frequent media briefings done on the funding and it’s application, this call can only be described as diversionary ”

According to the statement, “HURIWA’s argument about waste of funds by NPC is misleading. How can NPC that has successfully conducted a verified Digital Area Enumeration demarcation, trial census, trained over a million ad-hoc staff and procured Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) be accused of wasting money? It would seem HURIWA in their desperation to blackmail the NPC intentionally overlooks the long-term benefits of having accurate population data which is needed to effectively plan and allocate resources”

“Without this data, long term sustainable development is impossible no matter the resources available to the federal government. The value of appreciating Nigeria’s population distribution, age structure, employment trends, and educational needs, among other census derivatives is tangential to national development and should not be measured in terms of cost alone”. And in the present circumstances based on available records, the Commission has lived up to expectations”

The group insisted that, instead of advocating for the abolition of the NPC, HURIWA should focus on urging the government to enhance the Commission’s efficiency and transparency. The NPC should be encouraged to implement measures to “streamline data collection processes, improve data quality, and promote public awareness and participation in the census exercise when Mr President eventually fixes a date for the exercise.

“By strengthening the NPC’s capacity, the government can guarantee that the census is conducted efficiently and effectively, thereby maximizing the benefits derived from the exercise”. Scrapping the commission would be detrimental to the country’s progress by undermining effective governance, planning, and resource allocation.

“On accountability of the NPC in terms of funding, the group noted that the Commision has given a breakdown of the funding received so far which covers over 10 years of preparations since the last census exercise” the information is available for everyone to see therefore the repeated calls for accountability amounts to over flogging the matter with intent to mislead Nigerians.

“We urge Mr President to fix a date for the census so as to bring the positive fruits to bear on the nation.

The Chairman National Population Commission (NPC) had made a request of an additional N225.2 billions Census funding to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the Commission to conduct a hitch-free national Population and Housing Census in the country, latet this year 2023 or early 2024.

The NPC Chairman, Hon. Nasir Isa Kwarra made the request while briefing Mr President on the activities of the Commission at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He sought the President’s approval for the additional funding to cover the training, fieldwork allowances, retraining of trainers, and the conduct of a second-class Trial Census, later 2023.

In a statement issued by Mr. Dele Aleke, the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, he explained that President Tinubu, while receiving the NPC Chiaman and his team noted that the populations in the urban centres across the country have continued to escalate as a result of the extreme poverty and unemployment in rural areas.

OKOCHA AND DOUBLE-DEALING ARE SIAMESE TWINS

In the last 48 hours, Tony Okocha,
who for the last two months has been running a lucrative and mouth-watering contract to abuse, defame, blackmail and denigrate Senator Magnus Abe for no just cause, has threatened defamation lawsuits against young lads who spoke truth to his dubiousness, crass display of intoxicating childishness and legendary double-dealing.

I couldn’t help but laugh hysterically at his illusion of grandeur about what he called his “damaged reputation”.

There is hardly anyone who has read the letters from his lawyers talking about “damaged reputation” who has not exclaimed in bewilderment, “which reputation is Tony talking about?”.

It’s a fact that Tony Okocha is a compulsive double-dealer, he is fated to be that way and he himself cannot help it no matter the effort he makes. So there can be no defamation of character and reputation that do not exist. No one can damage a ruse.

We are all in Rivers State, and we have been following political developments here.

Who does not know, as a fact, that Tony drilled his dagger through the heart of former Governor Wike like Publius Servilius Casca Longus did to Julius Caesar? Do we need to be regaled of the story? Same fate befell Amaechi. Is he not doing it to Senator Abe who rescued him from the throes of literal death when all hope had been lost?

The notorious duplicitousness of Tony Okocha is a standing monument to his name. The evil that men do live with them.

Even recently, while Tony Okocha was in Port Harcourt addressing a press conferece in the gathering of his igbo-smoking boys, calling on President Tinubu to give his sponsor, former Governor Wike the ministerial slot for Rivers State, he sponsored another hapless group to the national secretariat of APC in Abuja to make the call that he, Tony Okocha, should be made the minister from Rivers State in an apt demonstration of his proclivity as master double-dealer! This is a fact!

So why is he threatening lawsuits for being called who he is? As a normal human being cannot stop eating, so Tony Okocha cannot stop double-dealing. It is his nature.

Tony Okocha in the last two months has been accusing Senator Abe of all unprintable things, but when young people hold the mirror to his face to see who he truly is, he is threatening lawsuits.

The Incontrovertible Words For A Garrulous Fairweather Crony.

“Okocha and his co-travellers should bury their heads in shame because the state of Rivers and the elections can be likened to the biblical husbandman and partakers of the first fruit."

"We had people who cleared the bush. We had people who tilled the soil, we had people who planted the seeds, and we had people who watered it."

"We had people who watched it grow. At the point of its growth, everybody finds his branch in different political aspirations."

“That is where Magnus of SDP is different. Now, they should bury their heads in shame that in plucking the fruits, they want to pluck the ripe and unripe and do not want those who wield, those who planted, those who watered to partake.”

Hon. Kadilo Kabari
Director Election Planning Committee Tinubu/Shettima ICC, Rivers State

STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE, ABUJA.

President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday in Abuja expressed his unwavering support for the National Population Commission (NPC) to conduct an accurate Population and Housing Census in the country. He, however, emphasized the need for the commission to be prudent in their assignment and work towards producing census data that would be credible and reliable.

Speaking at the State House in Abuja after receiving a briefing from NPC Chairman, Nasir Isa Kwarra, the President expressed concern over the delay in conducting another enumeration in the country since the last exercise done in 2006.
He urged the NPC to view this delay as an opportunity to cash in on the advantages of the current electronic and digital age.

”It is disappointing that up until now we have not been able to conduct another enumeration of our people. I hope that this delay will be converted to a great opportunity in this electronic and digital age.
”The challenge is yours and I hope that during the demarcation you did, you would have noticed the migration of people to urban centers because of the extreme poverty and unemployment.

”Digitalizing the process will make your job easier and I don’t see why we don’t, by now, have a reliable database in Nigeria to identify ourselves and ascertain our numbers for planning purposes and in time of disaster.

”I have listened to you and we will support you. Accuracy and integrity of your data is very important to Nigerians and for our national economic development programmes.

”We will support you but you have to be prudent and be determined to make a name for yourself. Goodluck, ” the President said.

In his remarks, the NPC Chairman noted that the Commission was on the verge of conducting the final training for the Census before they were caught up with the transition programme for a new government and funding challenges, necessitating the postponement of the exercise by the immediate-past President.

He briefed the President on the Implementation Status of the 2023 Population and Housing Census, requesting the issuance of a proclamation for a new Census date later this year or early next year.

Kwarra also highlighted the funding challenges faced by the Commission, saying they were waiting on the President to support NPC and give the go-ahead for the conduct of the census.

He said the commission had demarcated the entire country, stating that only one or the two places were left and that this would be done soon.
Kwarra said the commission had also trained 60,000 instructors that would further train enumerators and supervisors.

In a paper titled “Implementation Status of the 2023 Population and Housing Census,” the NPC requested the release of the allocated N31 billion capital allocation, in the 2023 budget, for preparatory activities.

The commission put the total cost of the Census, after a methodology review, at N546.72 billion.
Kwarra also requested the President’s approval for an additional N225.2 billion to cover training and fieldwork allowances, retraining of trainers, and the conduct of a second-class Trial Census.

President Tinubu was also asked to approve and convene a stakeholders meeting with the organized private sector and foreign partners to galvanise funds for the Census.

Kwarra informed the President that Nigeria has developed a database that can be useful in national planning, infrastructure development, and revenue generation for the government.

”NPC having completed Mapping in March 2022, tested the market with the geospatial data by making it available to researchers at a ‘test price’ where it generated over N50 million through REMITA.

”To this end, with a full integrated spatial and statistical data, government geospatial policy and coordination, NPC can generate up to 14 billion dollars and further save a lot of resources for the nation through automation of economic planning by 2028,” he said.

Dele Aleke
Special Adviser to the President

Truth is light, it will never be hidden not destroyed! It'll surely prevail over evil and falsehood!