Nigeria’s National Population Commission (NPC), has launched an e-recruitment portal for the successful conduct of the Population and Housing Census scheduled to hold in April 2023.
This was held at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja the nation’s capital.
According to the NPC Chairman, Nasir Kwarra, this will remove the huge logistics of moving personnel across the country.
He also said that most of the personnel for the 2023 census would be drawn from the communities where they are residents.
“Consequently, every community will have the opportunity of contributing to the census workforce thereby ensuring that the people are adequately counted.
“The gigantic task of conducting the accurate and reliable census requires the recruitment of manpower that will carry out the exercise”.
He said the commission’s commitment to fairness and transparency in the recruitment process led to the introduction of the online e-recruitment portal, adding that this aims to train the officers that will superintend over the census recruitment process.
“The Commission will through the online recruitment process request for applicants from the following categories of field staff that will be needed to prosecute the next Census: Facilitators, Training Centre Administrators, Monitoring and Evaluations Officers, Data Quality Managers, Data Quality Assistants, Supervisors, Enumerators.
“The number of functionaries to be recruited in each category will depend on the number of available vacancies in each State, which will be derived largely from the total number of Enumeration Areas (EA) in the States
“The launching of the online e-recruitment portal for the 2023 census at the headquarters marks the beginning of the online recruitment process whereby Nigerians from all demography and gender can hook on to the website that will be provided by the Commission to fill the online form and get themselves registered to be recruited.
“Let me use this opportunity to assure Nigerians that the bulk of personnel for the 2023 Census will be drawn from the communities where they are resident. This will remove the huge logistics of moving personnel across the country.
“Consequently, every community will have the opportunity of contributing to the census workforce thereby ensuring that the people are adequately counted.
“I want to use this occasion to promise Nigerians that the Commission is on course and will continue to be fair and transparent as we approach the 2023 Population and Housing Census.”
Stakeholders expressed readiness to partner with the Commission toward achieving a credible Census.
The Director General of the National Orientation Agency, NOA, Garba Abari, noted that Nigeria is a big country with a huge population and for everyone to be counted requires large human resources, assuring the agencies support to ensure a credible 2023 census.
He stressed the need for experiences in capacity to be deployed and called on Nigerians to avail themselves for the exercise just as he assured that Nigeria is safe for both the 2023 general election and the population and Housing census.
“Nigeria is safe, we would have elections, we would have census and Nigeria will remain peace, ” he stated
Also, the Postmaster General, Sunday Adepoju, noted that proper preparation prevents poor performance, expressing confidence in the NPC to conduct a credible election come 2023.
Adepoju added that the population exercise is as important as the existence of the nation and without a proper census the nation cannot move forward, stressing that the census data is key to planning for both educational, health, and many other needs of the citizenry.
“This can be achieved by having the right calibre of people that will go to all parts of the country. With this e-recruitment strategy of the Commission Nigeria will have credible data and the postal service is ready and committed to support the exercise because the next government will plan the nation well based on the data from the population census exercise,” he said.
The Director of Employment and Wages at the Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Gloria Ndifon, said e-recruitment is the new development and digital is what rules the world, and while commending the Commission for giving youths job digitally she said it will enable them gain experience and have better bargaining power for future engagements.
Also, the representative of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Ann Aderibigbe, lauded the e-recruitment portal saying this serves as a challenge to other agencies to embrace digitization to enable accuracy as the NPC is on the right track.
Giving an overview of the e-recruitment portal, the Census Manager, Inuwa Jalingo, said the e-recruitment aims to recruit staff who will work in all areas in the six geo-political zones, and from all communities to enable adequate coverage of every citizen, disclosing that the exercise will require over 25 million Nigerians to apply as Adhoc staff.
Meanwhile, the Director Public Affairs Department at the NPC, Dr Isiaka Yahaya, explained that the exercise is not just recruitment but a key preparatory activity for the 2023 census, adding that it is a stakeholders’ engagements activity which will enable a National census with accurate data for national planning.
The Commission decorated stakeholders from the NOA, NIPOST, INEC, NIMC, NYSC Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, and NBS as Ambassadors of the 2023 census to join the league of Governors and President Muhammadu Buhari who had also been decorated as Ambassadors.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Acting Resident Electoral Commissioner Niger state, Yakubu Duku who commended the effort of the Population commission in its preparation for the 2023 census, said the success of the National Population and Housing Census is of great importance and that INEC would contribute positively to ensure its success.
Equally the Acting Director National Orientation Agency in Niger State, Yahaya Ibrahim said that the agency would ensure that every household in the state participates in the forthcoming Population and Housing Census to achieve maximum benefits.
