Abuja: President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday inaugurated a high-level committee on the forthcoming national population and housing census. The President tasked the committee to submit an interim report within three weeks, Mr Bayo Onanuga, his spokesman, said in a statement. The President emphasized the census’s importance for national development and its role in accurate planning and effective decision-making across sectors such as healthcare, education, security, and economic planning.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Nigeria’s last census, conducted in 2006, recorded a population of 140,431,790, with 71,345,488 males and 69,086,302 females. President Tinubu stressed the pivotal role of a technology-driven process to ensure credible and verifiable results, urging collaboration among all relevant agencies and stakeholders. Highlighting the critical factor of financing, he encouraged the committee to explore both domestic and international resources.
‘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,’ Tinubu stated. He also emphasized, ‘The enumeration has to be technology-driven with biometrics and digitalisation.’
Represented by Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, his Chief of Staff, Tinubu appointed Sen. Atiku Bagudu, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, as the chair of the Presidential Committee on Population and Housing Census. Bagudu assured the President that the committee would meet the three-week deadline, recalling Tinubu’s advice to ministers to think creatively and maximize available resources under challenging economic conditions.
Bagudu highlighted Nigeria’s steady progress under Tinubu’s leadership, citing improved foreign exchange stability and a positive growth trajectory. He mentioned that the committee would propose practical solutions, including strategies for mobilising domestic and international resources to fund the census.
Alhaji Muhammed Idris, the Minister of Information and a committee member, stressed the necessity of accurate data for planning across all sectors, noting that a credible census forms the foundation for such data. Mr Nasir Kwarra, Chairman of the National Population Commission and committee secretary, stated that the commission has initiated preparations for the census in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
Kwarra assured Nigerians of the commission’s commitment to a credible, technology-driven enumeration to support effective national planning and development. The eight-member committee also includes the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, and the Director General of the National Identity Management Commission, among others.