President Tinubu calls for accurate National Census to drive devt

President Bola Tinubu has reaffirmed his commitment to conducting a comprehensive national population and housing census, insisting that the process must yield precise and dependable data to bolster effective development planning and enhance social security.

He stated this at a meeting held on Monday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja with officials from the National Population Commission (NPC), Tinubu stressed that the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) should play an integral role in the census process. He asserted that it is imperative to determine our identity, our exact numbers, and the best means of managing our data. Tinubu warned that without an accurate census, planning for employment, agriculture, and food sovereignty would be severely compromised.

It is important to note that Nigeria has not undertaken a national census since November 2006.

In a further development, the President announced plans to establish a committee whose role will be to align the census budget with the government’s current fiscal constraints prior to seeking additional funding from development partners. “We cannot afford a piecemeal approach to the census,” he stated. “A clear and systematic plan is required. I will form a committee to critically examine the issues, assess our available resources, and determine what we can finance internally before turning to external support.”

Tinubu also underscored that biometric data collection must lie at the heart of the census, utilising a range of identification technologies such as facial and voice recognition. He pointed out that having more reliable demographic data could enhance the delivery of government incentives, for example, the distribution of fertilisers.

Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, echoed the President’s dedication to the project, noting that the forthcoming data would be pivotal for future planning and the equitable allocation of resources. He recalled that at the 2023 ministers’ retreat the President reiterated his commitment to the census, and at the most recent Federal Executive Council meeting, Tinubu had enquired about the delays. Bagudu explained that funding difficulties were to blame, adding that the NPC and all relevant stakeholders must now determine the minimum funding required to support a final decision.

Bagudu also highlighted that during the 2006 census, development partners contributed roughly 40 per cent of the funding. Additionally, he mentioned ongoing efforts to integrate various identity management systems, including those managed by the NPC, NIMC, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Ministry of Digital Economy, as well as the passport registry, social register, voter register, telecommunications data, and the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA).

NPC Chairman Nasir Isa Kwarra underscored the urgency of initiating a new census, noting that 19 years have elapsed since the last enumeration, rendering previous figures unreliable for contemporary planning. He revealed that 760,000 tablets have already been procured and are currently secured by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in preparation for the exercise. Kwarra assured that, once President Tinubu officially announces the new census, the commission will promptly engage with development partners to secure the necessary support.