2018 CENSUS’LL BE BIOMETRIC BASED —NPC

The biometric system technology will be employed in the 2018 census by the National Population Commission, NPC, to capture the facial impression and fingerprints of persons. Federal Commissioner, NPC, Bayelsa State, Mrs. Gloria Izonfuo, disclosed this, yesterday, in Yenagoa, during the flag-off of the third phase of the Enumeration Area Demarcation, EAD, for Nembe Local Government Area of the state. She described EAD as the foundation on which the entire census architecture stands. Izonfuo said that the commission’s resolve to use biometrics in the census was to forestall any chance of people gaining advantage through manipulation of EAD. She said: “Considering the fact that the 2018 census will be biometrically based and will seek to capture the facial impression and finger prints of persons during the census period, any hope of gaining advantage through manipulation of EAD will at best be an illusion that cannot be realised as only persons physically seen will be counted and their biometrics taken. To us in the commission, the significance of the EAD exercise goes beyond the conduct of the 2018 census as we plan to establish and maintain a national framework including locality list and house numbering for future censuses and surveys in line with the mandate of the commission under Section 24 of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution. It is our expectation that what will be required for future censuses will be updating. Products from the EAD exercise can also be used by NIPOST to generate zip codes for the country. It is in this regard that the commission is deploying sophisticated technology in carrying out the EAD. The methodology for the census is designed to achieve full Geographic Information System, GIS, compliance. High resolution imagery will be used to ensure that no area is left undemarcated or no place duplicated, the methodology been adopted will not allow for the creation of imaginary EADs and any attempt to include non-existent households and buildings will be detected through satellite imagery.”