NPC intensifies preparation for 2023 census, trains FCT facilitators

By Cyril Mbah, Abuja

The National Population Commission (NPC) has intensified its preparation for the 2023 national census by training facilitators who will be deployed for the headcount in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

In an opening address at the ten-day facilitators training in Gwagwalada, NPC Commissioner for the FCT, Joseph Shazin said the 2023 population and housing census will be the first fully digitalized census in the country.

Shazin said that the personnel that would be deployed for the exercise must be properly trained and equipped with the necessary skills for the task ahead.

He stated that the facilitators’ training was among the series of workshops arranged for employees, ad-hoc staff and other important functionaries to be deployed for various roles during the headcount to acquaint them with relevant processes associated with the new technologies to be used for the census.

Shazin charged the facilitators to pay rapt attention to the training, pointing out that in a digitalized census, it was necessary that a properly skilled workforce should be deployed to avoid mistakes and wrong use of the digital applications.

According to the commissioner, the training will adequately teach the facilitators the concepts of the 2023 census; provide clear guidelines for field enumeration procedures, provide guidelines on the use of census data collection applications and provide a firsthand guide for census field operation.

He said the quality of the personnel used for the census will greatly impact the results and outcome of the 2023 headcount, stressing that the facilitators must be adequately groomed because the officers are expected to also train census supervisors and the enumerators at the zonal and state levels before the census date.

“For us in the commission, getting the 2023 Population and Housing Census right is not just an option but an absolute necessity in our quest to deliver a credible, reliable, acceptable and verifiable 2023 census. The commission will leave no stones unturned to ensure that the 2023 census is carried out meticulously, professionally and scientifically,” Shazin said.

He disclosed that monitoring and evaluation instruments have been developed to ensure that predetermined objectives and processes outlined for the 2023 census are attained while also expressing the hope that knowledge acquired from the workshop will effectively prepare officers in key positions to function more efficiently and positively impact on the results of the headcount.