The National Population Commission (NPC) has asked local governments across the country to stop issuance of birth certificates to people.
It said the task remained the exclusive function of the commission.
The NPC Federal Commissioner in Ekiti State, Ayodeji Ajayi, spoke in Ado-Ekiti at a news conference to mark the 2022 Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Day.
Ajayi, represented by the state Director, Mr. Samuel Adeyanju, said issuance of birth certificates by local governments had limitations and could not be relied upon, unlike the ones issued by NPC that could be accessed at anytime.
He said birth certificates issued by local governments were not acceptable for official purposes, except those issued by NPC, the only agency legally authorised to issue such documents.
Ajayi said available statistics showed that child registration in the state was very low.
The federal commissioner noted that the commission was committed to ensuring effective data gathering for the use of governments, organisations and interested individuals.
He said the ongoing review of the current Births and Deaths Compulsory Act 1992, when completed, would help to centralise the registrations and legally remove local governments from issuing certificates to the people.
Ajayi said: “It is important to let our people know that birth certificates from local governments are not acceptable and people should know that it is only the NPC that is saddled with the responsibility of giving people birth and death certificates.
“We have about 91 offices across Ekiti State for people to go and obtain the certificate. Any individual below 18 years should go to our offices in their areas and health centres, while those above 18 will be required to come down to our headquarters.”
Ajayi, who reiterated the commitment of the commission to successful conduct of the coming census, solicited the support of stakeholders in the country towards delivering widely acceptable exercise next year.