PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has approved the postponement of the 2023 Population and Housing Census, earlier scheduled for May 3 to May 7, 2023 till further notice.
The ICIR had earlier reported that there were indications that the 2023 that the exercise may be postponed following the statement of the 2023 Census Manager and Director, National Population Census (NPC), Inuwa Jalingo on Friday.
The 2023 census manager had said that there are a series of technical problems and issues that need to be fixed before the Commission proceeds to conduct the exercise.
Meanwhile, in a statement signed by Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed on April 29, Buhari gave the approval after meeting with some members of the Federal Executive Council and the Chairman of National Population Commission and his team at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Friday (28 April 2023).
According to the statement, the new date for the census to be determined by the incoming administration which would be led by the President-elect, Bola Tinubu.
Part of the statement read: “In arriving at the decision to postpone the Census, the meeting reiterated the critical need for the conduct of a Population and Housing Census, 17 years after the last Census, to collect up-to-date data that will drive the developmental goals of the country and improve the living standard of the Nigerian people.”
Buhari explained that with the completion of the Enumeration Area Demarcation of the country, conduct of first and second pretests, the recruitment and training of adhoc workers and procurement of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and ICT infrastructures, remarkable progress has been made in the implementation of the 2023 Population and Housing Census.
He commended the methodology being put in place by the Commission to conduct accurate and reliable Census, especially the massive deployment of technology that is capable of delivering world class Census and laying a sustainable basis for future censuses
Buhari instructed the Commission to proceed with arrangements for carrying out the 2023 Population and Housing Census to maintain the progress already made and establish a foundation for the next administration to strengthen these accomplishments.
According to the National Population Commission (NPC), the census earlier scheduled to take place in May 2023 will be Nigeria’s first national population census in 17 years, and it is expected to adhere to international best practices. However, it was earlier postponed due to the postponement of the gubernatorial and state assembly elections.
The ICIR had earlier reported that the National Population Commission (NPC) postponed a training programme organised for enumerators and supervisors involved in the 2023 population census.
The NPC had earlier stated that the census will be conducted digitally in line with the United Nations (UN) recommendations and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) recently approved N2.8 billion for the Commission to procure software to be used for the conduct of the exercise.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.