About 99 enumerators are currently undergoing a 12-day training ahead of the National Population Commission (NPC) trial census in nine Local Government Areas in Enugu.

Opening the training in Enugu on Friday, the federal commissioner representing the state, Ejike Ezeh, said that the nine LGAs had selected three council areas each from the three senatorial zones for the exercise.

Mr Ezeh said Enugu East Senatorial Zone comprises Nkanu West, Enugu North and Isiuzo council areas.

Enugu North Senatorial zone includes Udenu, Uzo-Uwani and Igboeze council areas, while Enugu West Senatorial Zone includes Ezeagu, Oji River and Udi council areas.

According to him, 7,718 enumeration areas have been selected for the trial to test-run suitability and readiness for the actual census in 2023.

The commissioner explained that the exercise would be used to test the new technology and innovations in the census enumeration, both regarding e-recruitment of personnel and the use of specially configured computer tablets for the exercise.

“The selection of samples from all states of the federation and the FCT is expected to yield nationwide information on state-specific issues that may arise for the next census and come up with possible solutions for addressing the challenges.

“However, some states have been selected for full LGA enumeration to test challenges around complete coverage under various scenarios such as in hard-to-reach areas, special populations, and rural-urban settings,” he said.

Mr Ezeh noted that “the trial census is not the actual enumeration of persons for the 2023 Population and Housing Census”, adding that the trial’s outcome would not form the basis of the 2023 Census.

“Data generated during the trial census will not be used to arrive at figures for the 2023 census, which is going to be zero-based and from information collected in April 2023,” he added.

The commissioner called on stakeholders and the general public, especially residents, security agencies and the media, to support the Trial Census to ensure its success in Enugu State.

The chairman of Enugu North LGA, Emeka Onunze, assured the NPC of the council’s resolve to support the Trial Census and ensure its huge success through massive rural publicity.

One of the trainees for the exercise, Chioma Ani, said she had learnt census methodology, planning and operations, use of digital maps and Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI), among others. 

(NAN)