President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has inaugurated a high-level committee tasked with coordinating the long-awaited national population and housing census, giving the team a three-week deadline to submit an interim report.
Represented by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, the President performed the inauguration at the State House in Abuja on Wednesday. He emphasized the importance of a credible, technology-driven census to support national development, planning, and decision-making in critical areas like healthcare, education, security, and the economy.
Nigeria’s last census was held in 2006, recording a population of over 140 million. Tinubu said it is long overdue to update this figure, adding that “you cannot budget if you do not know how many we are.”He directed the committee to work closely with the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, which is to take the lead in the coordination process.
“The enumeration has to be technology-driven with biometrics and digitalisation,” he stated, highlighting the need to adapt to global standards.Tinubu also urged the committee to explore domestic and international funding options to finance the census exercise effectively.
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, who chairs the committee, assured the President that the team would meet the three-week deadline. He noted that despite current economic challenges, the country is making progress under the Tinubu administration, citing improved exchange rate stability and a positive growth outlook.
Bagudu recalled the President’s past advice to ministers to think innovatively and work with available resources, a principle he said the committee will follow in delivering a robust roadmap for the census.Also speaking, Minister of Information, Muhammed Idris, stressed the necessity of accurate data in policy formulation across all sectors, while the Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Nasir Isa Kwarra, said groundwork for the census is already in progress.
Kwarra, who serves as secretary of the committee, reiterated the commission’s commitment to a credible and transparent process, assuring Nigerians of a census exercise anchored on digital technology and accountability.
Other members of the eight-member committee include the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy; Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS); Director General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC); Principal Secretary to the President; and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Administration and Operations (Office of the Chief of Staff).
