The Nigerian Senate has resolved to call on the President Muhammadu Buhari to issue a proclamation for the holding of a Population and Housing Census in 2018 since 2016 is no longer feasible.
The lawmakers reached the resolution at Tuesday’s Plenary which was conducted by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.
Meanwhile, before the call for motions of the day was made, the Senate approved, Ejembi Eko, as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
The approval was given by majority of the lawmakers through Electronic voting instead of voice vote; the first time E-voting was being used on the floor of the Senate.
On the issue of the 2018 National Census, the Motion was sponsored by Hunkuyi Suleiman and co-sponsored by Abubakar Danladi, Gbolahan Dada, Kabiru Marafa and Baba Garbai.
Supporting the motion, John Enoh said a National Census was important, adding that “we need to work and plan ahead to get the proper results.”
Enoh charged the executive arm of government to immediately commence preparation for the census and to make adequate provisions for it in the 2017 budget proposal.
All of the lawmakers that spoke with regards to the Census were of the opinion that efforts be made to ensure that the exercise turns out better than previous exercises.
Ekweremadu concluded the debate by speaking on the great importance of the data from census, adding that it helps national development.
In December 2015, at a luncheon organized for population correspondents in Abuja, reporters sought to know why the National Census would not be held in 2016 as initially expected.
The Chairman of the NPC, Eze Duru-Iheoma, who was represented at the event by Federal Commissioner Enugu, Festus Uzor, replied; “We set out planning for 2016 census because going by United Nations guidelines for census, it should hold between five to ten years, the 2020 round of censuses which this one falls into, was to hold in 2016 in Nigeria going by the fact that the last census was held in 2006.
“Now, the reality on ground is that the required minimum of two years to plan for census, even if the money required is giving to us today, we would not be ready by 2016 to do a good job.
“And it’s our position; that we rather not do a job at all, than doing a bad job, because that will be a waste of national resources, the Nigerian media would be part of those that will condemn us if we fail to do a good job.
“So the chairman has made it clear that the way things are; 2016 is not realistic, not that we don’t want it to hold it, but for us at the commission, to do a very good job, will now be in 2017 provided all preparations are put in place in earnest which means, funding have to be available, but on the part of the commission a lot has been done in terms of planning,” he said.
Well, from all indications, it is now obvious that the promise to hold the National Census in 2017, has been put aside.