The Federal Commissioner for National Population Commission in Abia State, Chief Nwabuisi Nwanne who dropped this hint in Umuahia on Friday while answering questions from journalists on whether the commission has reached out to the leadership of IPOB to solicit for their cooperation for the exercise, maintained that IPOB ought to be aware that any headcount in a given society is for the interest of all, adding that treating them to as a special case that should be consulted does not fall in line with the required standard.

“If you say you’re agitating for a people, you should at least endeavour to know their population. The Southeast was under enumerated during the 2006 census exercise because a similar group called for its boycott and now we’re suffering it”, he declared.

Addressing a news conference in Umuahia on Friday to inform the public on the ongoing Trial Census that started on July 13, 2022 in Abia State, Nwanne said the exercise that will end on July 30, 2022 is for preparation for the population and housing census coming up next year.

According to him, nine local government areas from the three Senatorial districts are being involved, saying that the exercise is a dress rehearsal to evaluate all aspects of census population before the main census on a limited scale.

In his remarks, the chairman of Abia Census Committee and former Deputy Governor of the state, Hon Acho Nwakanma tasked the people of the state to take the census exercise serious, assuring that the Abia State government will assist the National Population Commission and enumerators to achieve their target both at the trial census period and 2023 headcount count.

The chairman of the Abia State Traditional Rulers Council, HRH Eze Ndubuisi Nwabeke represented by his deputy chairman of the council for Abia Central, HRH Eze Geoffrey Onwuka, described the present Abia population of 2.6 million people as unacceptable and asked the people of the state to cooperate with the enumerators to ensure that Abia gets its rightful population.

The LGAs being enumerated in the trial census are: Bende, Ohafia and Isuikwuato for Abia North, while Umuahia North, Isiala Ngwa South and Osisioma are for Abia Central. Abia South has: Aba North, Obingwa and Ugwunagbo (Saturday Independent)

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