July 14, (THEWILL) – As trial Census begins in Benue state, the Dean, Post Graduate School, Benue State University, Makurdi, Professor Vitalis Tarhule, has identified unreliable data as one of the bane, which accounts for underdevelopment of the country since independence.
The Professor of Law, noted that the trial census in nine local government areas in Benue state by the National Population Commission, is development driven, if properly done.
He explained that ascertaining the actual population of the citizens was critical for national planning and government could use such information to determine where to site projects.
While expressing happiness that his local government area of Gwer East was selected for the trial census, the Don, who spoke in Makurdi, expressed concern over insecurity in the country and sued for effective collaboration between NPC and security agencies, to ensure safety of enumerators and the enumerated.
In his view, another Lecturer at the Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi, Dr Cletus Tyokyaa, noted that census exercise was necessary for political and socioeconomic development of the nation.
He, however, decried a situation whereby, many people from his local government area of Guma have deserted their ancestral communities due to incessant attacks on them by suspected terrorists.
Doctor Tyokyaa wondered how the result of the trial census in the area would reflect the actual population of Guma local government and the people there.
Meanwhile, Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Michael Inalegwu, has charged functionaries of the trial census in the state to turn in accurate data and information that will enable Benue know its real population status.
The Commissioner, who gave the charge at the closing ceremony for the training workshop for field functionaries for trial census.
He said it is only when accurate data is presented that the state will ask for its real share during allocation of national resources and siting of projects in the state.
The federal commissioner of NPC representing Benue state, Barr. Patricia Kupchi, represented by the state NPC Director, Ayuba Isah, told functionaries that the success and failure of the exercise relies on them and charged them to work within the work code and ethics to achieve maximum success.
She enjoined them to be polite to respondents, even as they work within the timeline, and to follow the right channel of communication wherever they encounter any challenge for the smooth running of the exercise.
Mr Terngu Zaki on behalf of facilitators, expressed the hope that with the training of the functionaries, the trial census will be successful and charged them to do the needful while in the field.
