By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
The commissioner representing Cross River State at the National Population Commission, NPC, Rtd Navy Captain Charles Ogwa, has assurred Nigerians that the deployment of the Personal Digital Assistant, PDA, a high-tech equipment, by the commission for the 2023 housing and population census exercise is a guarantee that the rescheduled 2023 census would provide accurate population figures.
The commissioner gave the assurance while answering questions from journalists on Wednesday in Calabar.
The commissioner averred that the deployment of the high tech equipment in the exercise will make the exercise to be zero tolerance to political manipulation and other influences that are capable of creating room for inaccurate figures.
Ogwa said, “There would be no political manipulation in the yet to be conducted 2023 population and housing census.
“We are deploying a high efficiency and high class technology that will give us accurate data that will be devoid of tips, political influence and so on.
“The technology we have deployed will give us result up to one’s village. It has zero tolerance for influence of any type.”
The NPC commissioner stressed that preparation for the conduct of the census has reached about 80 per cent before the exercise was re-scheduled to a yet-to-be-named date, urging members of the public not to listen to the rumour being peddled in several quarters that the exercise had been cancelled.
He added, “This is not true. The exercise was only re-scheduled. Nothing like cancellation of the population and housing census had been made.”
When asked if the hi-tech equipment can generate data that is authentic, the commissioner stated that the hi-tech equipment is capable of generating data that can withstand the test of time.
He advised, “Do not travel to your village during the exercise with a mind set to travelling for the exercise, as the technology deployed is capable of sending every piece of information captured about you to the central date base.
“Don’t bother to travel to your village once the exercise kicks-off. The high-tech equipment deployed by the NPC is capable of transmitting information captured about you and adding it up to the central data base to reflect that you are an indigene of your community.”
