CENSUS: AFENIFERE FAULTS NORTH, BACKS ODIMEGWU

The pan-Yoruba socio cultural group, Afenifere, has faulted the call for the removal of the Chairman of the National Population Commission, Mr. Festus Odimegwu, by the Arewa Consultative Forum and some northern leaders.
It said Odimegwu should be allowed to conduct the 2016 census.
After its meeting on August 27, the National Working Committee of the ACF had issued a communique urging the Federal Government not to allow Odimegwu conduct the 2016 census, for saying previous censuses were manipulated in favour of a section of the country.
The spokesman of Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, told SUNDAY PUNCH that the group was in support of Odimegwu, and believed he would conduct Nigeria’s first credible census in 2016.
He said, “What Odimegwu said is not new, even the former census boss at Adekunle Ajasin University in 2006, said the same thing, that since 1816, no census has been credible in Nigeria. The reason why the North is against Odimegwu is that they know that for the first time, census would be conducted by a credible census board in Nigeria. They are trying to defend their unjust gains through manipulations of previous census exercises.”
Odumakin stated that due to the manipulation of census figures in the past, the North had gained undue political advantages over the South.
He said, “It is on the basis of manipulated census that the North, which was one out of three regions we had in the country, now has 19 states, while the Western and Eastern regions have 17 states combined. In the First Republic, Lagos and Kano were divisions.
Today, Kano has been divided into Kano and Jigawa states, with 77 local government areas shared between the two, Lagos has remained one state, with about 20 local governments.
“It is also on the basis of this that the North-West and the North-East have enough representatives in the National Assembly to initiate the impeachment of the President; they can influence things because of this manipulation of census. There is nothing wrong in what Odimegwu said. He said the truth.
“In fact, by the time he made the statement, the Independent National Electoral Commission was embarking on delineation of constituency, which was seriously contested. If it was done, the far North would have lost some constituencies, and the South would have gained more constituencies based on 2006 census. That is why they (northerners) are up-in-arms against Odimegwu conducting 2016 census.”
Before ACF’s call, the Governor of Kano State, Mr. Rabiu Kwankwaso, had asked President Goodluck Jonathan to sack Odimegwu for the same reason, describing his appointment as NPC boss as a mistake.
In response, the Presidency had queried Odimegwu over the statement credited to him.
However, the Presidency has showed no indication that the North’s request would be granted.
Source: Punch