As reported by Daily Trust, the Director of the National Population Commission (NPC), Alhaji Olaitan Zubair, has raised concerns over the apparent lack of public interest in the ongoing nationwide digital birth registration initiative for children aged 0-5 years in Kwara State.

Speaking during a press briefing in Ilorin, the state capital, on Monday, Zubair emphasized the importance of public participation in the digital birth registration process. The initiative, a part of the NPC's mandate to modernize civil and vital registration statistics, seeks to replace the previously analogue system with a more efficient digital process.

Zubair urged residents of Kwara State to take advantage of the registration opportunity, highlighting the benefits of ensuring that every child is properly documented from birth.

Alhaji Zubair said, “Since the world is going global, we cannot afford to be left behind, hence the start of digitalized birth registration.”

The new system allows for seamless birth verification anywhere, as the information collected will be synchronized to a central database, he said.

He said currently, the NPC has registered approximately 40,000 children since the launch of the programme in August, adding that the goal is to register 152,000 children in the state.

He attributed the low registration numbers to a lack of awareness and significant public apathy toward the initiative.

To address this issue, he said the NPC has partnered with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to promote awareness and advocate for the importance of birth registration.

The registration exercise is scheduled to continue from August to December 2024.