NPC begins household listing, building numbering for trial census

The National Population Commission (NPC) has begun household listing and building numbering in Daura Local Government Area (LGA) of Katsina State.

Daura is among the six LGAs nationwide to be covered 100 per cent during the trial census, in preparation for the 2023 population and housing census.

The NPC’s Federal Commissioner in charge of Katsina State, Alhaji Bala Almu-Banye, said the exercise was in line with the approval of the Federal Government for the conduct of a trial census.

Responding to newsmen shortly after the stakeholders’ meeting in Daura, Alhaji Bala Almu-Banye said that the trial census was a dress rehearsal to test the methodology for the main census to be conducted in April, 2023.

According to Almu-Banye, “It is imperative to note that information collected from the trial census will not form the basis of the result of 2023 Population and Housing Census.

“As part of the exercise, enumerators are expected to visit all residential and non-residential buildings within their Enumeration Areas (EAs).

“And also, they are expected to number the buildings and list the number of households in the buildings.

“The trial census will only be conducted in selected areas, and the total of 7,718 EAs have been selected to test-run suitability and readiness for the actual census in 2023.”

According to him, as part of preparations for the exercise, NPC has trained about 1,250 personnel who would conduct the exercise in Daura LGA.

He explained that being a sample exercise, the trial census would only be conducted in selected areas; one LGA would be fully covered in one state in each of the six geo-political zones.

“One supervisory area in three LGAs is in each of the three Senatorial Districts in the remaining 30 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).”

He said the six LGAs included Daura in Katsina, representing Northwest, Toungo in Adamawa, representing Northeast, and Karu in Nasarawa, representing North Central.

Others are Imeko in Ogun representing Southwest, Idemili in Anambra, representing Southeast while Brass in Bayelsa State will represent the South South.