Some concerned stakeholders have raised the alarm that the management of the National Population Census (NPC) may scuttle the conduct of a credible and acceptable national census exercise in 2023.
The stakeholders, who are insiders in the Commission, accused the NPC management of fiddling with the process of procurring equipment for the conduct of the census.
They further alleged that the top echelon of the Commission has prepared to present five companies owned by the same individual before the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, holding tomorrow.
The stakeholders said the development had lead to heightened concerns among the workers as well as partners of the Commission.
They declared that the plan was not only unsafe for a very important exercise like a national census, but was also morally wrong, noting that multiple companies had been deemed to have qualified for the project.
“The contract with the project title: ‘Supply of PDA Tablets, Chargers, Power Banks, SD Cards and Tablet Pouch for Data Collection Exercise in the Coming 2023 National Population Census’ is worth about N300 billion.
“For there to be a safety net in the case of malfunction, various companies were approved to supply these equipment. However, we got it on good authority that the chairman has changed his mind and has given all the job to just one company.
“The worrying aspect of the whole drama is that stakeholders found out that all the five companies that would be presented before the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday are all from the same individual.
“This isn’t safe. It is unhealthy for the exercise we hope would be well done and widely acclaimed.
“This is the kind of mistake that scuttled efforts to produce a proper national identity card for Nigerians. We should not be retrogressing in matters like this in this modern era,” one of the stakeholders said.
While the NPC was lauded for sticking with indigenous companies to procure the equipment for the exercise, insiders frowned on one of the chosen companies in the line up, which they said had a reputation for not working to specification.
“The government must urgently look into this and seek a proper way of straightening these issues out before they are too late.
“We observed, with great dismay and sadness, that the company with the lowest reputation among those in line for the award of the contract had been put forward.
“It is the same company that had forwarded five other names as different companies. This is not proper, and it is a prelude to a disastrous outing for the NPC and cause the government serious embarrassment,” one of the stakeholders averred.
Efforts to get the reaction of the chairman of the NPC, Alhaji Nasir Isa Kwarra, to the allegations, were unsuccessful.
