One year has elapsed since former President Mohammadu Buhari approved the postponement of the 2023 population and housing census.
The suspension was disclosed in a press statement signed by the former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed. The minister noted that the president approved it following a meeting with Nasir Isa-Kwarra, the Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), and the Accountant General of the Federation, the Finance Minister and some other members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
In 2022, the NPC declared that N532.7 billion would be needed to conduct the national census in Nigeria.
However, the former Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, said that a total of N869 billion was needed for the census, noting that the government committed N291.5 billion with the need for an additional N327.2 billion from the private sector.
The census was slated for May 3-7, 2023, but was postponed indefinitely by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Despite the postponement, the NPC admitted having spent N200 billion for the planning mid-execution of the census.
How the money was spent
A Federal High Court in Abuja recently ordered the NPC to disclose expenditure details related to the suspended 2023 Population Census within seven days.
Justifying the amount spent, the former commission’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr Isiaka Yahaya, earlier said:
He said:
- “Consistent with global practice and inspired by an unswerving commitment to positively rewrite the history of the census in Nigeria, the Commission opted to conduct a digital census deploying the technology on a massive scale.
- “In a country struggling with an acute infrastructural deficit, this massive undertaking cannot come cheap but at a huge cost. Yes, it is true that N200bn has been spent on preparations for the 2023 census so far. However, this fund was not expended in the last few weeks, months, or years but rather since 2014 when preparations for the 2023 census actually began. Indeed, part of the N200bn was expended before the coming of the present Commission, which was inaugurated twice between 2018 and 2020 and even before the inception of the Buhari administration.”
The former director also disclosed that several items have been procured in preparation for the census, such as the procurement of computers, laptops, desktops, printers, software, and solar power systems for the census, among others.
He added that about 810,000 personal digital assistant devices were acquired for the 2023 census and were stored in all the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) offices across the country.
Yahaya also identified other expenses, noting:
- “The Commission procured vehicles, motorcycles, and boats for the movement of personnel and equipment across the length and breadth of the country. This was done along with renovation and equipping of all the 37 state and 774 Local Government offices for effective operational activities and storage for the 2023 Census.
- “Conducting a digital census requires a constant supply of electricity not only in the cities but also in the hinterland and hard-to-reach areas of the country for charging of PDAs and other equipment. Given the epileptic nature of power supply across the country, the Commission procured generators, power banks and installed solar power systems across the country.”
Also, during the Commission’s 2024 budget defence at the National Assembly (NASS), the House of Representatives Committee on Population urged the Federal Government to complete the census preparation process. This was even as the committee maintained that with the preparation process currently at 80%, nothing should stop the national census from holding.
What You Should Know
Nairametrics earlier reported that the NPC requested for N693.3 million in the 2024 budget to conduct the postponed national population and housing census. This is higher than the N10.52 million requested for the same fiscal item in the approved 2023 budget.
However, it was observed that there was another allocation of N30 billion for outstanding activities for the postponed 2023 census in the approved budget for this year. Also, it was observed that there are other census-related allocations of about N122.2 million in the proposed 2024 budget.
It has been reported that the postponed census may be held in November 2024.
Speaking with Nairametrics, a development economist, Dr Aliyu Ilias, said that conducting the census is necessary for economic development.
He said:
- “Majority of decisions to develop and provide facilities for a country, states, local government are based on the number of people using it. Census has direct relationships with economic development. A good example is the provision of schools, health facilities, and roads, among others.
- “If we don’t have a census, we will be providing facilities where it is not needed, while people that need it, suffer.”
Also, a Professor of Demography at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, John Laah, stressed the importance of the census in the country, urging the administration of Bola Tinubu to conduct the census as soon as possible.
- “This government needs census more than any other government. We don’t have the statistics to plan… If we conduct a census, it will help the government in making necessary plans. The absence of a complete census is a problem for Nigeria….
- “Census must be regular to make it useful and appropriate for government to plan for the deliveries of dividends of democracy. This government more than any other government needs to conduct census immediately so that it can kick-start the process of making genuine plans for the people.”
He further noted that the census is possible this year, adding that there is a need for refresher training for those earlier trained in 2022 and 2023, and that the census can be done within three to four months.
The Acting Director of the Public Affairs Department of the NPC, Mrs. Nkoyo Nwakusor, did not respond to calls and WhatsApp messages sent to her as of the time of filing this story.
