Baby Gabriel, born at midnight at Gwarinpa General Hospital Abuja, officially makes Nigeria’s population of 167 million as the world celebrates Day of Seven Billion People on Monday.
The father of the boy, Mr Ibu Simon, who hails from Cross River, named the child immediately after his delivery by Rose, his wife.
Mr Olorunfemi Nathaniel, the Permanent Secretary in the FCT, who represented the FCT Minister Bala Mohammed on the occasion, received the child as part of the activities marking the global commemoration.
Speaking on the occasion, Nathaniel said that the country’s 167 million population had placed more responsibilities on government.
Mr John. Zubema, the Director-General, National Population Commission, said that NPC had designed a system to monitor and determine the country’s estimated population periodically.
Earlier, Dr Agathe Lawson, the Country Representative of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), said that the seven billion world population and Nigeria’s 167 million populations counted on each and everyone.
“The theme of the event is everyone counting on each other — seven billion of people in the world counting on each other’’.
Lawson said the theme was to draw attention that everyone could take part in reducing poverty.
“The theme of the event is to draw our attention, that this population growth means counting on ourselves and that everyone of us should take part in reducing poverty, everyone should have access to education, good health’’.
She said that Nigerian leaders should take the advantage of the country’s large population to achieve greatness by addressing the issue of maternal and child mortality rate.
She pointed out that with these, the targets of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) could also be achieved.
Agathe told NAN: “I think this is something we need to celebrate. Humanity is facing challenges; countries are facing challenges. It’s calling on governments to think what they want to do with the population they have''.
The Chief Matron of Gwarinpa General Hospital, Abuja, Mrs Felicia Ojeme thanked the organisers of the event for choosing the venue.
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The Day of Six Billion People was commemorated in 1999. (NAN)
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