The Yoruba Welfare Group has called on the Federal Government and the National Assembly to, as a matter of urgency, address allegation of fraud over procurement of requisite equipment for the 2023 Census exercise.
The group said if the allegation is not addressed before the census exercise begins, it may cause its failure.
A statement by the National President of the Yoruba Welfare Group, Abdulhakeem Adegoke Alawuje, argued that stakeholders must urgently take the needed steps before the allegation becomes too late to handle.
The statement reads in part: “The contract with the project title: ‘Supply of PDA Tablets, Chargers, Power Banks, SD Cards and Tablet Pouch for Data Collection Exercise in the Coming 2023 National Population Census’ is worth about N300 billion. For there to be a safety net in the case of malfunction, various companies were approved to supply this equipment.
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“However, we got it on good authority that this has been changed and all the contracts have been given to just one company. The worrying aspect of the whole drama is that stakeholders found out that all the five companies that would be presented before the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday are all from the same individual. This isn’t safe. It is unhealthy for this very important exercise.
“While we commend the NPC for its commitment to digital census and sticking with indigenous companies to procure the equipment for the exercise, we frown at the brazen compromise of the procurement process.
The group therefore urged the government to immediately set up a committee to ensure the safe delivery of the 2023 census exercise.