CENSUS: NPC TRAINS EKITI JOURNALISTS

 

Hon. Ayodeji Ajayi, Commissioner, NPC

The National Population Commission (NPC) has trained journalists in Ekiti State with a view to ensuring full scale publicity and advocacy for the forthcoming national population and housing census in the State.

Declaring the workshop open in Ado Ekiti, the Commission’s federal Commissioner representing the State, Hon. Ayodeji Ajayi said constant and effective engagement with the media is a crucial step in the attainment of the mandate of the commission.

Ajayi who noted that the commission has invested a lot for the success of the exercise said the NPC would need the support of all stakeholders in gathering “credible and reliable data” needed for sustainable development planning.

The federal commissioner stated that the commission is committed to giving the nation “a truly digital and scientific census that will generate data for national planning within  the context of our present realities”.   

“Census is a national event and is the responsibility of every citizen to participate by presenting themselves to be counted. The commission will no doubt need the support of all stakeholders to deliver to the country a credible and reliable data it can use for sustainable development planning”.

“Convening this workshop for journalists across the nation is one of such engagements and it underscores the determination and commitment of the commission to conduct a successful population and housing census in 2023 by engaging you the media to effectively mobilize the citizenry by getting the people involved”, he said.

While commenting on the preparatory activities of the Commission, Ajayi disclosed that it had demarcated 774 local government areas across the country as well as the FCT, with the first and second census pre-test and trial census conducted.

Also speaking, the State Director of NPC, Mr Adebola Oladipo said the workshop was aimed at deepening the understanding of journalists and galvanizing support of stakeholders for the success of the census tagged ‘you count, be counted’.

“I strongly believe that this workshop will open a channel for in-depth discussions, suggestions, contributions, deliberations and above all, develop strategies on how to disseminate census message to every community and persons in Ekiti State and capture their attention to embrace and participate fully in the census exercise”, Oladipo said.