The Federal Government has postponed the 2023 population and housing census, indefinitely.
The census was earlier scheduled for March 29 to April 3, but later shifted to May 3 to 7, because of the governorship election.
But in a statement on Saturday by the Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Federal Government said the decision for indefinite postponement was reached after a meeting with some members of the Federal Executive Council (FRC) and the Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC) and his team at the presidential villa in Abuja on Friday.
The statement added that the new date will be determined by the incoming administration.
According to the minister, in arriving at the postponement, “the meeting reiterated the critical need for the conduct of a population and housing census, 17 years after the last census, to collect up-to-date data that will drive the developmental goals of the country and improve the living standard of the Nigerian people.”
He noted that with the completion of the enumeration area demarcation of the country, “conduct of first and second pretests, the recruitment and training of ad hoc workers, procurement of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and ICT infrastructures, appreciable progress has been made in the implementation of the 2023 population and housing census.”
Alhaji Mohammed added that the Federal Government commended the methodology being put in place by the NPC to conduct accurate and reliable census, “especially the massive deployment of technology that is capable of delivering world class census and laying a sustainable basis for future censuses.”
He stated that President Muhammadu Buhari directed the commission to continue with preparations for the conduct of the 2023 population and housing census “in order to sustain the gains already recorded and provide the basis for the incoming administration to consolidate these achievements.”
