Ahead of the 2023 population and housing census, the National Population Commission (NPC) has called on Nigerians to remain at their places of residency and be counted.

Executive chairman of NPC, Nasir Isa-Kwarra, stressed that Nigerians would not need to travel to their villages and states of origin to be counted as the questionnaire would capture their areas of origin.

He spoke at the opening ceremony of the North-Central second-level management training workshop on Monday in Lafia.

Mr Isa-Kwarra explained that the training was aimed at equipping state directors, local government area management staff and other senior management staff with the requisite skills required for a successful digital census.

“Given the adaption of electronic data collection technologies in the census, the workshop will expose the staff to the basic concept terms of the questionnaire, methodology and management of the census.

“The first level of management training for the executive chairman and commissioners of the commission was held before this one preparatory to the forthcoming trial census scheduled for June,” he explained.

Mr Isa-Kwarra promised to deliver a credible and reliable census that would be acceptable to Nigerians and assist in proper planning.

The federal commissioner representing Nasarawa State at the commission, Silas Agara, commended the federal and state governments for approval and support for the commission to conduct a census in 2023.

Mr Agara also lauded Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, traditional rulers and other stakeholders for their presence at the opening ceremony of the training and support the state was always given to NPC.

He assured Nigerians that the commission would do everything possible to deliver a credible and reliable census in 2023.

Declaring the training open, the Nasarawa governor lauded the commission for choosing the state to host the training for North-Central states.

Mr Sule explained that the state “needs a census because the population of Karu Local Government Area alone is more than the population of the state as captured during the 2006 census”.

(NAN)