On Wednesday, President Bola Tinubu affirmed his commitment to supporting the National Population Commission in fulfilling its mandate, which encompasses conducting the 2023 National Population Census.
This pledge came as he inaugurated the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics System, the National Geospatial Data Repository, and the National Coordination Committee on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS).
Notably, President Tinubu did not announce new dates for the census, which has faced multiple delays in previous administrations.
The Federal Government has been using an estimated population figure for the past 17 years, as the last census, conducted in 2006, reported a population of 140 million. Despite some disputes regarding the results, the country was due for another headcount in 2016, which did not materialize.
The previous administration under former President Muhammadu Buhari had initially planned to conduct the census in 2022, later rescheduled to 2023, and was eventually postponed indefinitely in May, just before Tinubu assumed office. Buhari deferred to the Tinubu administration to announce new census dates.
As of now, President Tinubu, who has been in office for approximately six months, has not yet specified a new census date. However, he underscored the significance of the census in key aspects of national planning and assured his administration’s support for the forthcoming exercise.
“The population remains the greatest asset of the nation in her development process.
“Collecting accurate and reliable information on the size, distribution, composition and characteristics of the population is an essential governance activity which is consistent with our Renewed Hope Agenda.
“The commission will therefore be supported in the conduct of next census,” Tinubu affirmed.
He encouraged government Ministries, Departments and Agencies to cooperate more in providing adequate data needed for planning and appealed to development partners for their support.
According to the President, conducting the census would give Nigeria a 100 per cent shot at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals pertaining to real-time identity management and population data. I.e., Goal 16.9.2 on “legal identity for all, including birth registration”.
President Tinubu noted, “We are open for all possible partnerships that will upgrade the character of nig.
“The current drive to reposition this vital registration system will provide 100 per cent attainment of our year 2030 SDG target with respect to real-time identity management and population data.
“The commission has made substantial progress in its quest to deliver the first digital Population and Housing Census. It is my hope that the result of the census will provide the nation with much needed data for development planning and enthronement of good governance.”
