By Princess Simon (Bureau Chief North Central, in Minna)
More localities will not necessarily translate to higher population to any Local Government hence the need for critical stakeholders to provide accurate data for finalizing and presenting to the grassroots the final list of localities ahead of the 2023 Population and Housing Census.
Alhaji Muhammad Dattijo Usman, the National Population Commission (NPC) Federal Commissioner, Niger state, made the declaration at the opening of a two-day State Level Compendium of Localities Workshop organised by the NPC to finalize and present to the grassroots the final list of localities for the census.
The objective of the State level Compendium of localities workshop taking place at the federal secretariat, Minna, Usman said, is aimed at compiling localities demarcated during the Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD) on Local Government Area basis showing the coverage and location on interaction maps.
Expressing displeasure that key stakeholders who should be in the forefront to ensure that the state is properly remunerated, have not shown enough commitments to the cause in Niger state. Usman reminded participants of key denominators for the exercise.
“The EAD exercise collected data on all localities with a standard definition of locality as a distinct population cluster (also designated as inhabited place, populated centres, settlement and so forth) in which the inhabitants live in neighbouring sets of quarters, has a name or a locally recognised status.
“It also includes; fishing camps, hamlets, mining camps, ranches, farms, market towns, villages, towns, cities and many other population clusters that meet the criteria specified above”, adding that, Wards, quarters or housing estates within towns or cities were not regarded as a locality.
Fragmentation of localities, he cautioned may hinder the rapid development of Local Government Areas as major developmental intervention programmes by Government and Non-Governmental Organisations working along the path of population.
Also speaking, former House of Assembly member, Hajiya Sa’adatu Kolo, commended the NPC for the initiative which will provide accurate population and Housing census of not only the state but the entire country and therefore encourage participants to be more committed to the training.
“It is very important that we know who we are. It is important we know how many we are, where we live and carry out our daily activities because that will also determine what social amenities that accrue to us as a people”, Kolo pointed out as she expressed commitments to supporting the NPC as a representative of the women folks.
In his contribution, the former Permanent Secretary, Niger state Ministry of Information and Culture, Alhaji Abdula Paiko, called for more commitments to the exercise in order to bridge the gap between the North and South. According to him, “Southern part of the country is far ahead and this is not good enough for us”.
Niger state came tops during the last census in 1973 and the derivable benefits is what the state is still enjoying today, the former Permanent Secretary said, and therefore called for active collaboration between the National Population Commission (NPC), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to actualize set objectives.
Among key stakeholders present at the event included; the Acting Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mallam Yakubu Mohammed, the Director National Orientation Agency (NOA), Yahaya Ibrahim Gbongbon, and the chairman of Gbako, Lavun and Edati Local Government Areas.
Out of the eight Emirate Councils in Niger state namely; Bida, Suleja, Kontagora, Agaie, Lapai, Borgu, Kagara and Minna only the Emirs of Minna, Suleja and Agaie sent a representative to the all important training workshops. NNL.