From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
Mrs Omattah Ralie Head of Vital Registration of NPC Speaking on behalf of State Director Abiodun Ojo
Ahead of the December 31, 2024 target for the E-birth enrollment across the country, the Kogi State Office of the National Population Commission (NPC) has been able to register 185,307 children in the state.
The Kogi State Director of the National Population Commission, Abiodun Ojo disclosed this at a Press Conference held in Lokoja on Thursday, to showcase the level of response and sensitization on the children’s digital registration exercise in the state.
The conference was organised by the National Orientation Agency, in Kogi State, as part of its publicity efforts, in collaboration with the National Population Commission, NPC, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, UNICEF, and the National Identify Management Commission, NIMC, towards the dissemination of needed information on the E-BIRTH project.
Mrs Omattah Ralie, Head of Vital Registration of the National Population Commission while speaking on behalf of the State Director of NPC, Abiodun Ojo, gave an assurance that the office would be able to conclude the E-BIRTH registration exercise in the state by December this year inline with the UNICEF deadline who is funding the project.
The NPC Director appealed to parents across the state who are yet to available their children of the opportunity of the E-BIRTH registration to do so without further delay as the deadline for the exercise is close by.
“E-BIRTH registration exercise is free hence the more reason why parents should be encouraged to make their children available for the enrollment” Ojo advised.
Ojo, identified resistance of parents from capturing of their children faces, nonchalant attitude of absenteeism or not making their children available for the exercise as a major challenge so far.
Earlier, Mr. Patrick Edogbaya, Acting State Director of National Orientation Agency, Kogi Directorate, on behalf of his Director General, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, noted that the E-BIRTH registration has been on in the last three years and is being funded by UNICEF, an international donor agency to ensure easier headcount of children world over.
“The National Orientation Agency’s role on the project is to embark on massive sensitization of Nigerians to enable them know what to do to embrace the scheme
“Our sensitization efforts via the use of the Media is a continuous one. So far we have been able to Flagg Off our sensitization and awareness creation on the E-BIRTH registration in ten local government areas of Kogi state” Edogbaya disclosed.
He described the Media as Vanguard in the sensitization bid to all the agencies connected to carry out the E-BIRTH registration project.
Representative of National Identify Management Commission NIMC, Jeminiwa Olusegun, Assistant Chief Identity Officer in Kogi State who also spoke during the press briefing, disclosed that 120 million Nigerians out of the expected 300 million population have been captured under the ongoing identification Programme for the nation’s citizens.
He explained that the e-registration Programme is a global practice aimed at enhancing accuracy, security and efficiency in the system.
