President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday inaugurated a high-level committee on the forthcoming national population and housing census.
Tinubu gave the committee three weeks deadline to submit an interim report.
Represented by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila at the event held at the State House in Abuja, Tinubu said the census is crucial for national development, accurate planning, and effective decision-making in healthcare, education, security, and economic planning.
In a statement by his Media Aide, Bayo Onanuga, the president underscored the critical financing factor in the exercise, while enjoying members to look at domestic and even international resources.
Nigeria's last census was in 2006, nearly two decades ago. It recorded a population of 140,431,790, with 71,345,488 males and 69,086,302 females.
However, the President stressed the pivotal role of a technology-driven process in ensuring credible and verifiable results and the need for collaboration among all relevant agencies and stakeholders.
“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.
“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 Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, who chairs the Presidential Committee on Population and Housing Census, assured the president that the committee will deliver its report within the three-week deadline.
The minister recalled Tinubu's advice to ministers during their retreat in 2023, urging them to think creatively and work with the resources available, even under harsh economic conditions.
Bagudu noted that despite global economic challenges, Nigeria is making steady progress under Tinubu's leadership, citing improved foreign exchange stability and a positive growth trajectory.
He said the committee will recommend practical solutions, including strategies for mobilising domestic and international resources to fund the census.
The Minister of Information, Muhammed Idris, also a committee member, emphasised that accurate data is critical for planning across all sectors and that a credible census is the foundation for such data.
