The Nigerian Population Commission said on Saturday that it has limited authority until President Bola Tinubu gives his approval for the nationwide census to begin.
Originally slated for 2022, former President Muhammadu Buhari decided to postpone the population and housing census because it fell within the general election campaign for 2023.
A few days before he left office, Buhari finally said that the process would be halted indefinitely and that Tinubu would be permitted to announce new dates for the headcount.
However, the President has not yet disclosed a new date one year after taking office.
According to reports, NPC Chairman Nasir Kwarra spent almost ₦200 billion getting ready for the cancelled 2023 housing and population census.
Speaking on Saturday at the Urhobo Leadership Forum award ceremony in Abuja, Mrs. Blessing Brume-Ataguba, a Federal Commissioner of the NPC, affirmed that the commission was in fact awaiting the President’s clearance to start the exercise.
She stated, “If you recall, the previous administration of Muhammadu Buhari wanted to conduct the census but had to postpone it because it happened within the same period as the general elections”
“He deemed it prudent to postpone it so as not to overburden Nigerians with tasks. However, as things stand today, we are preparing for the census and waiting for President Bola Tinubu to issue the proclamation”
“We have already formed the security committee, and our chairman, Nasir Isa-Kwarra, serves as a joint chairman with the NSA, Nuhu Ribadu”
“We are currently working to form the security committee in the states. So we are on track”
“We will have the most digitalised census ever. We have already completed the enumeration for every section of Nigeria. We have previously classed all of the dwellings, areas, and households. We’re ready to leave. We only need a bit more time to recruit and train the ad hoc workers. According to her, they were around 80 percent prepared for the process when the previous administration called it off”
The commissioner, who received a posthumous award in honour of her father, Senator Fred Brume, also stated that plans had been made to digitise the upcoming census.
“Well, we know there’s money for it. The President is keeping everything close to his chest. But don’t worry, the population census will happen eventually. We last had a similar exercise in 2006. So we are long overdue for that.This is why I am optimistic it will start shortly because we are making all of the necessary preparations.
“We were 80% ready before the postponement last year. Unfortunately, some of the work we completed before it was cancelled will have to be redone.
If Nigeria does not continue with it, we risk losing a lot of data because we have put so much money in the process,” she said.Earlier in his remarks, Peter Igho, President of the Urhobo Leadership Forum, criticised the absence of representation for their people in federal positions.
Igho stated that an area that works tirelessly for the country’s peace and progress deserves more than what it now receives.
He stated, “As our solidarity grows and we contribute to the national experience, we must also demand equity and justice for our people and land.”What we desire is our fair part of the Nigerian collective.
“Often, the loudest voices, not the most deserved, get summoned to the table. “We, the peaceful Urhobo people, deserve to be heard and listened to. Our under-representation in governmental institutions has become legendary”
“Even in parastatals established in our homelands, non-local personnel hold executive control. The sad situation would not be tolerated in other jurisdictions”
“We are concerned about the long-term decline in the quality of public life. We observe that this occurs not just at the federal level, but also at the subnational level, where a significant bleeding of our resources continues to occur. This has been a horror narrative that must end.”
Why this matters
A national census is crucial for effective governance and planning. It provides essential data for resource allocation, policy development, and economic planning. Nigeria’s last census was in 2006, and the lack of recent data may hinder accurate planning and decision-making across various sectors.
Bottom Line
The NPC’s plans to digitize the census process indicate a commitment to modernizing data collection and management.
This approach could improve accuracy and efficiency, but it also requires careful planning, training, and execution to ensure successful implementation.
