185,307 children in Kogi State have been registered in the ongoing e-birth enrollment taking place across the country.
The Kogi State Director of the National Population Commission, Abiodun Ojo who disclosed during a Press Conference held in Lokoja on Thursday, to highlight the level of response and sensitization on the children’s digital registration exercise in the state.
The conference which was organised by the National Orientation Agency, in Kogi State, as part of its public enlightenment/ sensitization efforts was 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.
Head of Vital Registration of the National Population Commission , Mrs Omattah Ralie, who spoke on behalf of the State Director of NPC, Abiodun Ojo, assured that the commission is poised to conclude the e-birth registration exercise in the state by the end of December, 2024 yo conform with the UNICEF deadline that is funding the laudable project.
The Director who also appealed to parents across the state to make their children available for the exercise, said that E-BIRTH registration exercise is free for all Nigerian children
He 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 in his speech Mr. Patrick Edogbaya, Acting State Director of National Orientation Agency (NOA) , Kogi Directorate, 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.
Mr Edogbaya who spoke on behalf of his Director General, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, said that the NOA’s role on the project is to embark on massive sensitization of Nigerians to enable them know what to do to embrace the scheme and the importance of the exercise.
“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” he stated.
He commended the Media for their support in ensuring that the people at the grassroots received the information.
Representative of National Identify Management Commission NIMC, Jeminiwa Olusegun, Assistant Chief Identity Officer in Kogi State who also spoke during the press briefing, revealed that so far 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 country.
