From Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi
The National Population Commission (NPC) has stated that henceforth, birth and death registration in the country will be computerised so as to ensure proper records and address the shortfalls of the manual method of registration.
Director Information Technology of the NPC Dr Bertram Chukwubuike stated this on Monday during the opening ceremony of three day capacity building training on births and deaths digital registration organised by the commission in collaboration with UNICEF for stakeholders in Bauchi.
He said digital registration was key to better and accurate data collection for planning and sustainable national development.
“Vital Registration in Nigeria given the output from the National Population Commission needs to be strengthened and coordinated at various tiers of government.
“Effective governments all over the world that believe in good governance rely on their citizens’ demographic database with reliable vital statistics like births, deaths, marriages among others for efficient and effective delivery of such services and plan for sustainable development,” he pointed out.
Also speaking, the Director of the commission in Bauchi State, Musa Haruna Rashid, explained digital birth and death registration was making capturing of data easier, faster and accurate.
He added that the system will also help in linking relevant ministries and agencies such as National Bureau of Statistics, courts, National Identity Management Commission, Federal Road safety Commission etc to have accurate and same data for analyses.
In his remarks, Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed represented by the Secretary to the State Government Sabiu Kafi commended the National Population Commission for organising the training saying it was timely, especially in this digital era.
He promised that the government will support the commission in order to achieve the set goal.
