Tunji Wusu –
On Thursday in Abuja, President Bola Tinubu stated his support for the National Population Commission’s (NPC) efforts to conduct a thorough Population and Housing Census in the nation.
But he emphasized the necessity for the commission to exercise caution in their work and strive to produce accurate and reputable census data.
The President expressed concern about the delay in conducting another enumeration throughout the nation since the last exercise was completed in 2006 while speaking at the State House in Abuja after getting a briefing from NPC Chairman Nasir Kwarra.
He advised the NPC to seize this postponement as a chance to benefit from the advantages of the modern electronic and digital age.
It is sad that we haven’t been able to perform another enumeration of our population up until this time. In this computerized and digital age, I’m hoping that this delay will be turned into a fantastic opportunity.
“The challenge is yours, and I’m hoping that you noted the flow of people to metropolitan areas due to the acute poverty and unemployment during the delineation you carried out.
“Digitalizing the procedure will make your job easier, and I don’t understand why Nigeria doesn’t already have a trustworthy database to identify itself and determine its population for planning purposes and during emergencies.
“I’ve heard what you have to say, and we’ll help you. The confidentiality and accuracy of your data are crucial to Nigerians and our national economic development initiatives.
The President advised, “We will support you, but you have to be wise and determined to make a name for yourself.”
The Commission was about to complete the last training for the Census, according to the NPC Chairman, before they became bogged down with the elections and financial issues.
He said that this was the reason the immediately-past President had to postpone the exercise.
He provided the President with an update on the implementation of the 2023 Population and Housing Census and asked that a proclamation be issued to set a new Census date for later this year or early next year.
Kwarra also brought up the Commission’s financial difficulties, stating that they were awaiting President backing for NPC and approval to conduct the census.
He claimed that the panel had already defined the entire nation, adding that there were only a few remaining areas and that it will be completed soon.
The commission, according to Kwarra, also taught 60,000 teachers who would go on to train more enumerators and supervisors.
In a paper titled “Implementation Status of the 2023 Population and Housing Census,” the NPC requested that the N31 billion capital allocation designated in the 2023 budget for preparatory operations be made available.
After reviewing the methodology, the commission estimated the overall cost of the Census to be N546.72 billion.
Kwarra also asked the President for permission to spend an extra N225.2 billion to pay for fieldwork and training allowances, the retraining of trainers, and the execution of a second-class Trial Census.
A stakeholders conference with the organized corporate sector and overseas partners was also requested of Tinubu in order to mobilize funding for the Census.
Kwarra informed the President that Nigeria had created a database that may be helpful for planning the country’s future, building its infrastructure, and generating cash for the government.
“NPC tested the market with the geospatial data by making it available to academics at a “test price,” where it generated over N50 million through REMITA, after finishing the mapping project in March 2022.
“To this end, with a full integrated spatial and statistical data, government geospatial policy and coordination, NPC can generate up to 14 billion dollars and further save a lot of resources for the country through automation of economic planning by 2028,” he said.
