By Aluta News
June 1, 2021
Nasarawa State Government has flagged off sensitisation on the importance of population census across the 13 Local Government Areas ahead of the 2022 national head count.
Mr Dogo Shammah, Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, flagged off the campaign on Tuesday in Lafia.
He said the exercise had become imperartive to ensure that the people participated fully in the census for accurate representation of the state’s population figure.
Shammah said that the 2006 population census had placed Nasarawa State at a disadvantage position with a low population figure of 1, 869,377.
He said, as a result, the state government approved grassroots mobilisation and sensitisation across the state to correct the anomaly by educating the people to come out en mass to be part of the 2022 census.
The commissioner explained that the low population figure of Nasarawa State from the 2006 census, affected its monthly allocation from the Federation accounts, which greatly impeded the provision of social amenities for the people.
“It was believed that the low turnout of the people to be counted in the last census was due to lack of awareness on the importance of the census.
“This, no doubt, affected the state negatively thereby depriving government from meeting the demands of its people. Now that the National Population Commission (NPC) has started Enumeration Area Demarcation exercise, there is need for awareness creation.
“It is on this premise that the Ministry of Information is embarking on a massive mobilisation and sensitisation for the people of the state to avail themselves of next census to be counted,” he said.
Mr Shammah also appealed to traditional rulers to mobilise and sensitise their subjects to participate in the forthcoming census, adding that the royal fathers are critical stakeholders as custodians the culture and values of the people.
“At the moment, the ministry has been organising series of radio programmes to educate people, while jingles in different languages are produced and being played in both radio and television stations,” he said.
Also, Mr Silas Agara, Federal Commissioner representing Nasarawa state at NPC, encouraged the people of the state to avail themselves for the 2022 population census.
Represented by Mr Umaru Tafida, the State Director at the Commission, Agara enumerated the benefits of census to the development of Nasarawa State.
In his remarks, the Emir of Lafia, Retire Justice Sidi Bage, who was represented by the ‘Madakin Lafia,’ Ishiaka Dauda, charged all the traditional rulers to step down the message to their subjects.
He also called on them to accord NPC’s personel the necessary support during the exercise.
On his part, the ‘Andoma’ of Doma, Alhaji Ahmadu Ogah-Onawo, said that mobilisation and awareness creation was an essential rescue mission, noting that Nasarawa State was relegated by the last NPC head count.
He, therefore, called on the people of the state to be ready for the forthcoming 2022 census, assuring that the people of Doma Local Government were prepared to support the intentions of government towards the success of the exercise.
NAN