Deborah Akinyosoye
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, inaugurated a high-level committee on the forthcoming national population and housing census, tasking the panel to submit an interim report within three weeks.
Represented by the Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila at the event held at the State House, Abuja, President Tinubu highlighted the significance of census exercise in national development, accurate economic planning, and effective decision-making in healthcare, education, security among others.
Nigeria’s last census was in 2006, nearly two decades ago. It recorded a population of 140,431,790, with 71,345,488 males and 69,086,302 females.
President Tinubu stressed the pivotal role of a technology-driven process in ensuring credible and verifiable results and the need for collaboration among all relevant agencies and stakeholders.
Underscoring the critical financing factor in the exercise, the President enjoined the members to look at domestic and even international resources.
“Work with all relevant agencies, including the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning. This ministry has to take charge of this because you cannot budget if you do not know how many we are.
“We expect you will touch on the technology area because the census must be technology-driven. Things have changed since the last time that we conducted this exercise. The enumeration has to be technology-driven with biometrics and digitalisation,” he said.
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, who chairs the Presidential Committee on Population and Housing Census, assured of the committee’s preparedness to deliver its report within the three-week deadline.
Bagudu recalled President Tinubu’s advice to ministers during their retreat in 2003, urging them to think creatively and work with the resources available, notwithstanding the harsh economic conditions.
The Minister noted that despite global economic challenges, Nigeria was making steady progress under President Tinubu-led administration, citing improved foreign exchange stability and a positive growth trajectory.
He said the committee will recommend practical solutions, including strategies for mobilising domestic and international resources to fund the census.
The Minister of Information, Muhammed Idris, who is also a committee member, emphasised that accurate data was critical for planning across all sectors, adding that a credible census was the foundation for such data.
The National Population Commission (NPC) Chairman, Nasir Isa Kwarra, who will also serve as the committee Secretary, said the commission has already begun preparations for the national population and housing census in collaboration with the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and other relevant stakeholders.
According to him, the focus has been on identifying key requirements and laying the groundwork necessary for the President to make an informed decision on the actual conduct of the census.
Kwarra assured Nigerians that the National Population Commission remains committed to ensuring a credible, technology-driven enumeration that will support effective national planning and development. The eight-member committee also includes the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Director General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the Principal Private Secretary to the President, and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Administration and Operations.