By IKENNA OSUOHA
ABUJA- National Population Commission (NPC) has promised to partner National Council of Women’s Societies (NCWS) to increase sensitisation of women for a successful 2023 census.
Executive Chairman of NPC, Alhaji Nasir Kwarra, said this when the NCWS National President, Hajiya Lami Lau, led a delegation on a visit to his office in Abuja.
Kwarra described women as a very vital component of the society, with undisputable influence over their families.
He pledged the commission’s collaboration with women societies, urging them to ensure that everyone was counted.
“NCWS is an important stakeholder to us, because it is an umbrella body of women associations in Nigeria.
“As women, you occupy a very important position in every family structure. You can influence the family more by ensuring that everyone is counted,” he said.
Kwarra said that NPC had demarcated about 772 local governments areas, adding that over 45 per cent of women were participating in the census exercise.
The NPC chairman said that the commission’s mandate was not only about census, but to also advise government on population management.
Earlier, the national president of NCWS expressed the society’s willingness to collaborate with the commission for a successful digital census.
Lau affirmed that their visit was in consideration of the commission’s important task of managing the country’s population data, especially in the development through formidable census.
She commended the NPC chairman for creating a digital call centre, saying that it would make the forthcoming exercise the first ever digital population and housing census in the history of the country.
According to her, digital census will guarantee transparent and credible census, of international standard.
Lau said that the commitment of the society, under her watch, was to promote women in leadership and governance, ensure their economic empowerment and stimulate actions to strengthen legal and policy frameworks to end violence against women and girls.
“The society is also committed to child protection and girl-child education as well as building an effective and efficient NCWS as a valued partner for promoting the gender agenda,” she said.
Acting Director-General of the commission, Mrs Patience Mbagwu, emphasised the role of women in national development.
She urged them to utilise their national spread to the country’s advantage in sensitising people about the need for them to be counted. (NAN)
