The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) announced that the upcoming 2023 National Population and Housing Census will utilize digital technology to enhance its credibility and efficiency.
Dr Garba Abari made this known during his appearance on the News Agency of Nigeria Forum in Abuja on Sunday. Abari, who is also a member of the National Publicity and Advocacy Committee on Census, explained that this method of conducting the census is a departure from previous approaches in the country. Abari’s statement on digitizing 2023 cencus “This is one census that is going to be different from previous ones. To enhance the credibility of the exercise, this census is going to be digital. ‘’In the house listing and numbering, the National Population Commission has perfected the space and got the point much beyond what google has done in the mapping. ‘’In terms of specificity and the correctness of the capture of every house and hamlet in Nigeria, the NPC has gone far beyond what google has done. ‘’We may not say that we are absolutely 100 per cent correct, but 99 per cent of all houses, structures within the enclave of Nigeria’s territory have been captured digitally, far beyond what google can provide in terms of specificity.’’ ‘’Digitalisation will enhance the credibility because there is a common template for the exercise and that is all that will be sent to the cloud.” ‘’And in the process, you miss out the most important element of the programme, which is getting sufficient data for planning.”
