The Senate has assured that the much-awaited population and housing census slated for November this year will hold as scheduled.
Speaking yesterday in Abuja during the screening of 17 of the 19 commissioner-nominees for the National Population Commission, NPC, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Identity and Population, Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central), noted that coincidentally, most of the nominees are people coming for the second time.
He said: “It is a renomination and we have perused their credentials presented in the first instance, compared to the ones they. have just presented.”
It will be recalled that Nigeria has been using estimated figures for many years, as the last census was conducted in 2006, by the National Population Commission, which gave a population figure of 140 million.
The immediate past administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari had planned to conduct another census in 2022 but the programme was later moved to 2023.
The exercise was, however, suspended indefinitely by Buhari, a few days before leaving office, saying he would allow President Bola Tinubu to announce new dates for the headcount.
Recently, Tinubu pledged his administration’s support for the next census, asserting its importance in crucial aspects of national planning.
Speaking further, Ningi, who noted that conducting the exercise is all about political will by the government, noted that Nigeria had not conducted a census in the last 11 years.
Ningi said further that the population census is the basic crux of human development, adding that without the census, no plan could be executed.
“That is why it is difficult now to ascertain the exact population. Even pro-rata, how many are Nigerians because of lack of political will,” Ningi said.
He explained that since the population issue was on the front burner, all efforts are underway to ensure its takeoff, saying “The nominees should realise the importance of the assignment before them. The last time we had a national census was more than a decade ago.
