The National Population Commission (NPC), says it will evaluate the proposed use of electronic equipment ahead of the Population and Housing Census, scheduled for next year in line with its extant laws and functions.
NPC Chairman, Nasir Isa Kwarra, made the disclosure on Monday, while declaring open a legal workshop, themed: “The legal framework for a digital census: prospects and impediments in Nasarawa.”
Kwarra said the evaluation became imperative to ensure that the Commission operates on a firm legal foundation as it sets out to deploy digital technology to execute the forthcoming census in 2023.
He identified some of this equipment to include: Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), deployment of high-resolution satellites, geographical Information Systems (GIS), Global Positioning Systems (GPS), and digital maps of Enumeration Area (EAs).
The cardinal focus of this workshop is to review and propose Amendments that will, among other things, seek to strengthen the statutory mandate of the Commission and at the same time build confidence in the census-taking process.
“There is no gainsaying that no society operates successfully void of a legal framework to facilitate the day-to-day interactions between its members.
“The general role of the law is to define structures, organs, mandates, offences, and consequences of infractions for the order and good governance of any society. This is also true in the life of an organization like the Commission,” he said.
He stressed that the workshop is expected to situate the Commission’s proposal within the confines of the law, and to propose legislative amendments where necessary to take care of pertinent emerging issues.
“The cardinal focus of this workshop is to review and propose Amendments that will, among other things, seek to strengthen the statutory mandate of the Commission and at the same time build confidence in the census-taking process.
“With a strong law to safeguard the process, Nigerians will have greater confidence in the census results when released,” he added.
