By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of 20 Nigerians to serve as Federal Commissioners in the National Population Commission (NPC).
According to a statement signed by Mr Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, nine current Federal Commissioners were appointed to a second term in office, while the 11 others are serving their first term.
The list includes Mr Emmanuel Trump Eke — Abia, Mr Clifford Zirra — Adamawa — Reappointed, Mr Chidi Christopher Ezeoke — Anambra — Reappointed, Mr Isa Audu Buratai — Borno — Reappointed, Mr Alex Ukam — Cross River, Ms Blessyn Brume-Ataguba — Delta, Mr Jeremiah Ogbonna Nwankwegu — Ebonyi, Mr Tony Aiyejina — Edo — Reappointed, Mr Ejike Ezeh — Enugu — Reappointed, and Mr Abubakar Damburam — Gombe — Reappointed.
Others are Mr Uba Nnabue — Imo — Reappointed, Ms Sa’adatu Dogon Bauchi Garba — Kaduna, Mr Aminu Ibrahim Tsanyawa — Kano, Mr Yori Afolabi — Kogi, Mr Olakunle Sobukola — Ogun, Mr Temitayo Oluseye Oluwatuyi — Ondo, Mr Mudashiru Hussain — Osun — Reappointed, Ms Mary Ishaya Afan — Plateau, Mr Ogiri Itotenaan Henry — Rivers, and Mr Saany Sale — Taraba — Reappointed.
The President charged the new and returning NPC Federal Commissioners to successfully implement all measures taken by his administration to produce and effectively appropriate accurate population data with which lasting solutions to Nigeria’s socio-political and economic challenges can be conclusively developed and executed.
In a related development, President Tinubu on Wednesday launched the Digital Civil Registration and Vital Statistics System, and the National Geospatial Data Repository at the State House, Abuja.
He said Nigeria’s population remains the greatest asset the nation wields in the broader mission to become one of the largest economies in the world.
He said the CRVS system is the basic building block of an identity ecosystem, adding that, “it will help to improve service delivery to all Nigerians and shall ultimately become a vital source of identity data across federal agencies such as NIMC, NIS, Road Safety, INEC, Police, EFCC and other security outfits.
“The system will also improve the ability of our federal agencies to generate vital statistics on important population events and migration, further enabling the government to design well-tailored, effective and efficient policies that are capable of meeting the specific needs of the Nigerian people.
“It is my hope that the current drive to re-position this vital registration system will provide the basis for the 100 per cent attainment of our Year 2030 SDG targets in respect of real-time identity management and population data.
“Our population remains the greatest asset of the nation in the development process. Collecting accurate and reliable information on the size, distribution, composition, and characteristics of the population is an essential governance activity that is also consistent with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration. The Commission will therefore be supported in the conduct of the next census,” the President affirmed.
