By Onuminya Ochowechi In Sokoto
After the completion of the numbering of buildings and listing of households the National Population Commission (NPC) has begun the enumeration of persons in Sokoto State for trial census as part of preparation for the 2023 headcount.
Enumeration exercise was being carried out in nine local government areas of the three senatorial districts of the state.
Among the selected communities in Shagari local government areas of the state includes Tunga Rana , Tudun Shibkau and Kajiji .
A total of no fewer than 80 enumerators and nine supervisors were designated to carry out the enumeration exercise.
Speaking at Shagari the NPC Federal Commissioner in the state Alhaji Chiso Datijo described the trial census as a full ” rehearsal” of the main census stressing that the enumerators would canvass all questions that needed to be asked in 2023.
According to him the questions would cover age, gender , marital status , educational attainment , work status , migration, disability, mortality and housing while religion and ethnicity would be excluded.
He further disclosed that the actual enumeration for the trial census would offer the opportunity to test the full data production system for the digital census
He added that the information collected would be uploaded to the NPC central server in the cloud by enumerators after each day’s work had been certified by the supervisors.
He maintained that the information gotten would only be used for stastical and developmental planning purposes..
He also took journalists to some of the houses were residents were being enumerated at Tunga Rana, Tudun Shibkau, Kajiji in Shagari local government to observe how the exercise was being conducted and the challenge being experienced by the enumerators.
One of the enumerator who gave his name as Fahat said the exercise so far had been successful.
He further explained that the challenges they had encountered is continuous advocacy to get on board those who were unwilling to be enumerated .
The representative of the district head of Kajiji Alhaji Muhammadu Bala Shagari told journalists that there has been an enlightenment campaign and sensitization on the benefits of being enumerated.