The Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) on Tuesday said a lot of people and communities would not be captured if the exercise holds as planned

The Government of Benue State has cited the reason, the National Population and Housing Census slated for May 2023 should not hold, Daily Trust reports.

The Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) on Tuesday said a lot of people and communities would not be captured if the exercise holds as planned.

Our correspondent reports that a few weeks ago, Governor Samuel Ortom urged the Federal Goverment to postpone the census until the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Benue and other states of the federation are returned to their homes.

Executive Secrerary of SEMA, Dr. Emmanuel Shior, who stressed the call for the suspension of the census while addressing journalists in Makurdi, said it was necessary to shift the exercise so that many people would not be disenfranchised.

“We’re calling for suspension of the census for now because we suspect that if federal government continues, a lot of people will be left out as their homes and communities will not be captured.

“There is a big challenge with that census that we are working out. Remember, the census is not only about counting human beings but their houses as well. So, the big challenge is that the people are displaced, they are in the camps,” he said.

Shior after the briefing distributed food items to IDPs across the state, noting that the distribution exercise for this month would cover all the displaced people in both official and unofficial camps.

The SEMA boss listed the items for distribution to include, bags of rice, cartons of noddles, condiments (tomatoes, maggi, salts), gari and yam, among others.