Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (ECRVS) will begin on September 2 in Lagos State.

National Population Commission (NPC) has begun training ad hoc registrars across local governments.

Federal Commissioner representing Lagos State, Mrs. Saidat Oladunjoye, while opening the training at Kosofe Local Government, said the training would be in two phases, while some councils were merged, depending on the size and number of volunteers.

She said: “This exercise is to train our ad hoc officials who will handle the registration of births, to ensure we have accurate data of children born in Lagos State. They are to register children under 1 and 5 years. The registration for children under 1 will be done at hospitals and other non-governmental institutions where children are born, while the under five years will be done at community and ward levels.

“This particular registration is unique because such children will automatically have their National Identity Number (NIN). It is also important for us to capture as many children as possible to make planning easier.

“Through this registration, the government can make proper plans in education, health, political development among other areas. It will also be easy for us to retrieve data on these children rather than carrying paper everywhere while some can be lost in transit.” (The Nation)