Census Must Hold This Year – Senate

The Senate has said that the Nigeria census must be held this year after being postponed several times.

The last census was conducted about 19 years ago. Still, on Tuesday, Senators complained bitterly about the country’s lack of population headcount for the past 19 years, which, according to them, is turning Nigeria into a laughing stock in the comity of Nations with credible data for proper planning and not trial-and-error projections.

It therefore declared that the National Census must be held in Nigeria this year. The chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC ), Hon Nasir Isa Kwarra, hinted that a biometric model of headcount is being worked on.

The Senate’s displeasure at the lack of credible data and statistics for thorough and specific planning in the country due to lack of headcounts over the years came to the fore during a budget defence session the NPC Chairman had with the Senate Committee on National Identity and Population.

During the session, virtually all the committee members, Chaired by Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP Bauchi Central), lamented the country’s lack of head counts for the past 19 years.

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First, Senator Diket Plang (APC Plateau Central) lamented, saying that he felt terrible as a Nigerian leader because his country did not have credible data on its citizenry’s population.

“I feel terrible that we still live on estimated population figures. We are still postulating and relying on data supplied by foreign bodies, which is demeaning us among the community of Nations.

“We want to know our population. Nigeria should be counted this year  he said.”

Making similar lamentation, the Deputy Minority leader of the Senate, who doubles as Vice Chairman of the Committee, Senator Olalere Oyewumi (PDP Osun West), said NPC should put everything in place for the population headcount to hold this year.

According to him, to prevent what happened in 2022 during President Muhammadu Buhari from repeating itself, the population exercise must be held this year because 2026 will be too close to the 2027 general election.

“NPC’s 2025 budget should revolve around the population census, which must be done this year because the demographic characteristics of the population figures being bandied about the country now are not known.

„NPC should get its act together for the President to proclaim the population census, which, in itself, will facilitate provisions for the desired money „, he said.

Emphasising the importance of the exercise, the Chairman of the committee, Senator Abdul Ningi, in his remarks, said the committee will, through the President of the Senate, write President Bola Tinibu on the need for the exercise this year.

However, in his response, the NPC Chairman said the President is not against population headcount but wants it done biometrically.

„President Bola Tinubu is obviously on the same page with members of this committee on the need for population headcounts, but the assignment he has given us is that all machines and facilities should be put in place for the essential exercise to be done biometrically so that, at the end of the day, nobody will say fish were counted in the riverine areas, and cows counted in the North.“

Earlier in his budget presentation, the NPC boss said that in 2024, the total budgetary provision for the commission was N12.7 billion, out of which N1.17 billion was earmarked for capital votes, N818.9 million for overhead, and N10.8 billion for personnel costs.

The NPC Chairman said N18.2 billion was proposed for the 2025 fiscal year, of which N1.17 billion was earmarked for overhead and N17.7 billion for capital votes. The Committee accordingly approved the budgetary proposal.