19 Year after: Tinubu moves to break Census jinx with High-Powered Committee, sets deadline

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday inaugurated a high-powered committee to steer preparations for Nigeria’s long-overdue national population and housing census, directing members to submit an interim report within three weeks.

Describing the exercise as vital to national development, Tinubu said accurate population data is essential for planning in sectors such as healthcare, education, security, and the economy.

“Nigeria must get it right,” the President said through his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, who represented him at the inauguration ceremony held at the State House in Abuja.

“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.”

He emphasised the importance of deploying modern technology to deliver a credible and verifiable census.

“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 last population census in Nigeria was conducted in 2006, nearly two decades ago. It recorded a population of 140,431,790 – comprising 71,345,488 males and 69,086,302 females.

The newly inaugurated Presidential Committee on Population and Housing Census is chaired by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu.

He pledged the committee’s readiness to deliver within the tight timeline.

“We are committed to submitting our report within the three-week deadline,” Bagudu assured. “As you told us at the ministerial retreat in 2003, we must think creatively and work with what we have, even under tough economic conditions.”

Bagudu acknowledged current global economic challenges but pointed to improvements in Nigeria’s economic indicators under President Tinubu, including a more stable foreign exchange market and a positive growth trend.

He said the committee will recommend feasible funding strategies, including options for mobilising both domestic and international resources.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, who also serves on the committee, underscored the importance of a credible census.

“Accurate data is critical for planning across all sectors. A reliable census is the foundation for such data,” he said.

Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Nasir Isa Kwarra, who will serve as Secretary of the committee, confirmed that groundwork for the census is already underway.

He said the NPC is collaborating with the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and other key agencies to identify key requirements and lay the foundation for a presidential decision on when to conduct the census.

“We remain committed to ensuring a credible, technology-driven enumeration that will support effective national planning and development,” Kwarra said.

Other members of the eight-member committee include 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 (Office of the Chief of Staff).