2016 census: FG insists on accurate data, quality

The Federal Government on Monday said it was committed to accurate population data production and management to ensure sustained economic planning and national development.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Special Duties Office, Dr. Jamila Shuara, said this in Abuja at the 2013 retreat on population management organised by the NPC for its employees.

The retreat had as its theme: 'Effective population management for sustainable development in Nigeria.'

According to Anyim, countries all over the world are presently taking keen interest in issues relating to their population for multi-sector planning, adding that 'population and demographic studies and management are necessary for crime prevention, infrastructure deployment and maintenance, modern city modelling and urban renewal; while population data in economic planning cannot be underscored.'

He insisted that effective management of the nation's population was not just an issue of choice but 'an absolute necessity.'

The SGF said, 'If Nigeria must make remarkable progress in her effort to improve the standard of living of the people, knowing her accurate population figure should be considered a great asset for present and future development.'

This, he said, was why the Federal Government was committed to improving the quality of population management and allied matters in Nigeria, especially in the areas of census, identity management and trans-border crime control.