The National Population Commission (NPC) has announced the commencement of another round of Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD) in 23 states.
The announcement was made on Thursday by Alh. Hassan Bashir, Ag. Chairman NPC, at a news conference in Aguleri, Anambra East Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
Bashir, who was represented by the Federal Commissioner for Anambra, Mr Chidi Ezeoke, said the commission had so far demarcated 112 LGAs in all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in previous EAD exercises.
He said the EAD would take place in one LGA each of the 23 selected states, where President Muhammadu Buhari recently appointed Federal Commissioners.
“At the end of the exercise on April 13, the Commission would have successfully demarcated 135 LGAs, while the remaining 639 will be covered in subsequent programmes,” Bashir said.
He said 52 members Demarcation Teams, each consisting of 40 Demarcators, 10 Supervisors and two Quality Control assistants, have been recruited for each of the 23 selected states.
“The Commission has continued to deploy sophisticated technology in carrying out the EAD; and the methodology for the demarcation is designed to achieve full Geographic Information System (GIS) compliance.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the EAD exercise is not the enumeration of persons living in the country; and its outcomes will not in any way determine the population of any community, local government or state.
“It is just the division of the country into small geographical areas to facilitate enumeration,” Bashir explained.
He said that the Commission had put in place adequate logistics for effective deployment of personnel and materials in the selected areas.
Bashir appealed to community leaders, traditional rulers, as well as local councils, to sensitise their populace; and support the Commission to carry out the exercise efficiently.
He urged the president to proclaim the conduct of national census, noting that the country was three years behind schedule after the 2006 Population and Housing Census.
The NPC boss said a national census will provide the country with needed statistical data for effective planning.
In an interview, the state Director of the Commission, Mr Joachin Ulasi, called for a review of the country’s Constitution to enable mandatory conduct of census every 10 years.
Ulasi also said paucity of funds was part of the challenges the commission faced in carrying out EADs across the 774 local government areas of the country.
He said by April 13, the EAD would have been carried out in only four out of 21 LGAs of the state.
Also speaking, a Demarcator, Mr Joseph Ogwuejiofor, who is taking part in the ongoing three-day EAD refresher training, expressed readiness for the exercise.
