Lokoja – A non-governmental organisation , Initiative for Grassroot Advancement in Nigeria (INGRA) has called on the federal and state governments to come up with strategic policy on population and how it can be harnessed for the growth and development of the country.
The group made the call on Monday in a press release issued on the occasion of this year’s World Population Day.
The statement was signed by Mr Hamza Aliyu, Executive Director, INGRA.
The theme of this year’s celebration is “World Population Day: A world of 8 billion: Towards a resilient future for all – Harnessing opportunities and ensuring rights and choices for all.”
“The current population of Nigeria is 216,267,500 as of Tuesday, June 28, 2022, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data, INGRA said in the statement.
It added that the African continent records the highest growth rate in the world, saying that population remain very crucial and critical to any nation’s development.
“The metropolitan area of Kano and Lagos is also among the largest urban agglomerations in the world,” the statement said.
The Lokoja-based organisation said Okene is ranked the city with the highest population in Kogi State with an estimated 439,000 persons.
“This is followed by Dekina, Okehi, Adavi and Ofu.
“The assumption would have been that the public development in the State should focus on these areas to ensure that people living in those areas get a standard of living that is at best minimal for survival,” he said.
Aliyu said that there was need for the state government to take advantage of its population for the development and well-being of the citizens.
“Kogi State must immediately develop and strengthen its population policy and integrate it into its states development agenda/plan
“There must be a strategy for arresting the population growth looking at the poor GDP growth and economic outlook of Nigeria and especially Kogi State,” the statement said.
According to the non-profit making organisation, agriculture, health, education and infrastructure must be given top priority in public expenditure to harness the potentials from the young population.
“The era of wasteful expenditure on “white elephant” project and political jamborees must come to a stop and scarce resources must be put to the best use of our people
“Insecurity is a symptom of poor governance and as such, Kogi State government must begin to provide a sense of responsible and inclusive expenditure of resources to show our people, especially the youths that government is responsive to their needs and yearnings,” Aliyu said.
(vitalnewsngr.com)
